


Drifting to Heaven

by thebatjokesonyou



Category: Black Panther (2018), Captain America (Movies), Doctor Strange (2016), Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: A Cult?, Age Regression/De-Aging, Alternate Universe where things are way better, Angst, Angst With A Happy End, Angsty villian with an angsty backstory, Brainwashing, Bruce Banner - Freeform, Bruce has DID, But she's just a bad guy, Captain America - Freeform, Characters will be added as they appear - Freeform, Delightful Zombies, F/F, F/M, Gay pairings because yay, Guardians of the Galaxy - Freeform, Hypnosis, I hate Thanos to the core, I ignore hateful comments ♥︎, Infinity War, Iron Man - Freeform, Just something I made because oof, Kinda angsty in the beginning?, Light torture?, Literally picks up right where the movie left off, Literally the only person dead is Thanos, Loki's a little crazy, M/M, Mind Control, Mind alteration, Multichapter, Natasha Romanov Has Issues, OC, Read at Your Own Risk, Religious References, Rocket Raccoon - Freeform, Rocket just wants his team back, Self Insert OC - Freeform, Spoilers, Steve Rodgers - Freeform, Steve loves Buck, Steve's pretty pissed though, Stucky - Freeform, That ugly Hitler plum deserves to die, The Avengers - Freeform, There was a cult, There's bad things, Thorki - Freeform, Tony realizes how much he loves his Spider son, Torture, Vision - Freeform, WHY ARE THERE SO MANY FUCKING TAGS, childish behavior, did, heterophobia, i dunno, i hate thanos, just a little, thanos - Freeform, tony stark - Freeform, wow that's a thing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-04-29 21:45:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 24,838
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14481843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebatjokesonyou/pseuds/thebatjokesonyou
Summary: Spoilerssssssssssssaka, don't read this till you've seen the movie-"By dying at Thanos' hands, you are given mercy. Rejoice! For you are reborn!"Steve and the others discover a strange planet that wasn't there before and that the inhabitants are all the ones killed by Thanos once he gained the Infinity Stones. They decide to start a rescue mission and are shocked to discover that not only is there no battle against them but that getting on the planet and finding their lost companions won't be the hardest part.The hardest part will be convincing them to leave.





	1. Left Behind

**Author's Note:**

> So, I saw Infinity War and I cannot handle the ending sooooo I'm doing things my way! Now I can properly cope with my emotions because everything is still happy yAAAAAAAAAAY!
> 
> I'm sorry if this chapter ends up being some zip-zooming from perspectives and planets (JUST LIKE THE MOVIE) but once the remainder of the gang is back together, I'll stick to one perspective per chapter. This is the sad set up part that takes place literally right where the movie left off. The only difference is that Thanos is dead and well, his head isn't the only thing that was cut off. 
> 
> I mean it, that Hitler plum deserves it. Make me cry, I'll write a universe where your head gets cut off. That's. That's all I can really do.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone who didn't turn to ashes falls apart.

Vision had been destroyed twice at this point, the Mind Stone ripped from his being and placed into Thanos' gauntlet when the sound of thunder came. Right before the axe swung and lopped off the head of the false god, there was one final snap. 

With that snap came the Rapture. 

Half of the universe's civilizations became dust in the wind. Ash that flew away into nothingness. No matter who grasped at them, no matter what anyone tried, they were gone. There was nothing left, not clothing, not bone, not a single remnant of their beings. Only what they had left behind. 

The universe was in mourning from that point on. For all it had lost, for all the pain it was enduring for crimes that could not cost that high of a price. For the lives of young, old, rich, poor, moral, immoral, all those that had become mere memories tainted by an end that most didn't understand. 

Steve Rogers was one of those mourning individuals. Grown men weren't supposed to cry, or so he'd been informed in his childhood but watching Bucky dissolve, watching all he tried to protect fall apart, knowing he'd failed was so much. Too much, in fact. Everything had come undone. What was left? How could they move on? He sat on the ground of the battlefield for who knew how long, attempting to process it all when he heard Natasha speak next to him. 

"Steve." Her voice was soft and broken, no different than anyone else. "We...we found something. They need you to come look at it too. I know you're not in a good place but..." Black Widow sighed out through her nose, hoping he'd understand. She usually was so composed, she thought things like this through but her mind was scattered. Seeing people vanish gave this the feeling of a bad dream. 

"No one's in a good place right now, Nat." Steve replied, getting up slowly and facing his team mate. "What do they need me to see?" 

•••

"I'm sorry.

I'm sorry, Peter. 

I'm sorry." 

Tony repeated the words like a quiet prayer, holding his hands that had touched Peter as if it were still him, still that brilliant, shining, optimistic child he'd had so much hope for, who believed in him, who he'd failed to protect, who died in his arms wishing he'd done more for the arrogant, snarky Tony Stark. "I didn't-I don't deserve-" The sobs rose up to his chest, tears pouring out of him in waves. All that planning, all that work, watching it fail was crushing him, suffocating in a way nothing could compare. The kind of pain that's only what it is, that can't be touched or tended to struck him in his heart, rocked his body to the core and came out of his mouth in wails. 

Alone, on Titan, was the genius inventor of Earth, Tony Stark. A man who had fame and fortune, luxury and all the perks it came with on his home planet had decided to battle on the home planet of his enemy. He was left with dirt and blood. Pain and misery. The knowledge that he had failed to stop the one thing he feared most. It broke the billionaire, made him collapse to his knees and hold the remnants of a hero who had fought beside him. 

Once he'd finished his cries, Tony got back up, miserable and exhausted. He found his way back to the Guardian's ship, holding onto a blind wish that things were safe on Earth, at least. He knew the truth, he knew what watching them turn to rubble meant. Still, Stark convinced himself that Thanos hadn't reached Earth, that there was still time to save everyone. It was the only thing that willed his body to move through the exhaustion and excruciating agony from every assault he'd gone through today. In the middle of attempting to get into the pilot's seat, his body suddenly gave out and he hit the ground, his world collapsing right along with it. 

•••

"A new planet just formed not far from Earth." Bruce explained, pointing to the huge purple rock on the holographic model of the solar system. "We have no idea why or where it came from and it makes no sense for it to just appear but it's closer to us than the moon is. Considering it's color and recent events, we believe it has something to do with...Thanos." For a moment, his hand clenched into a tight fist as he attempted to keep his calm. 

"He's dead. Thor killed him, we watched his head roll off of his shoulders. How could he create anything?" Steve asked, wishing he sounded less impatient. He knew it wasn't helping but his emotions got the better of him. Wanda, Vision, Bucky, T'Challa, Groot. Those were only some of the casualties making his blood boil. 

Bruce stared at the planet on his model with a distant, far away expression. "There's no other reason it would exist. None. It's size, it's place, how it randomly came out of nowhere, it's got to be some magical thing. If this happened everywhere else, I don't think anyone in the universe but some sick, sick people would be in the mood to play. This might have been what Thanos wished for right before Thor got rid of him. The other thing is that it's half the size of Earth. And just hearing half makes me think-" 

"Is Groot there?" Rocket, who no one had realized was in the corner, came running over, staring at the diagram. "You said it was half the size of Earth and Groot was offed here by that purple fucker." The raccoon hybrid reminded them all, his eyes focused on the planet in front of him. 

"Thanos may have been unable to finish his wish." Natalia offered, thinking it over in her mind. "If Thor managed to kill him before he could actually think his wish through, exactly how he wanted to phrase it, he could have made a mistake. Transported everyone to these planets instead of finishing the job. Groot could be there or he could be somewhere else if he isn't..." She didn't want to destroy the possibility for him. Not now, not when everyone was so fragile.

"No matter the case, we need to get everyone here and form a plan. Thor should be able to get us there using his axe." Steve nodded, soothed by the idea of there being a plan of some sorts. This was their best shot at finding everyone. 

All anyone could do now was hope and try.


	2. The Gatekeeper of Heaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter wakes up to find he's not dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Jesus I wasn't expecting this much attention.
> 
> First off, hello! Thanks for the wonderful kudos and comments! They help make me write this thing, haha. If you've got any minor requests or criticisms (I'm gonna re-read and fix things up daily, I promise!) I love to read all your wonderful commentary and kindness! 
> 
> That being said, I'm alsooooo gonna warn you that this is gonna get happy and weird and eventually, a little gay and really adult so, if none of that is in your ballpark, feel free to evacuate now.
> 
> And yes, most of these chapters are going to be pretty short. I swear to you, I'll never get this done if I make them long. But I'll try to upload one every day or every other day if that makes up for it//

> Peter Parker awoke in a field of tall grass and purple flowers.

His eyes focused around until he sat up, seeing a light purple sky and clouds that appeared to be made out of what could only be described as silk covered in fairy dust. "Wh...What is this? Where's...Mr. Stark?" His groggy voice inquired, his mind extremely confused, as more questions formed. He shakily stood up, still in his Spider-Man suit when he noticed the tall figure approaching him. Immediately, Peter got into a fighting position, not knowing if this was a threat but wanting to be prepared. "H-Hey! HEY! Who are you?!"

A large man covered in dark lavender armor walked over, his eyes a golden amber. "Do not fret, fellow warrior. I am Heimdall. I have not come to fight, nor do I wish any harm on you." Heimdall introduced, stopping a foot away from Peter. "I know you're confused. That is normal. The clarity you seek can be found here on Lotus. But you must follow me. If you choose not to, I can no longer guarantee your safety. I won't fight you but there are many creatures out there that will." He explained, not once sounding menacing or at least nefarious. His voice carried that trusting tone he always had.

Peter thought his choices over and decided that the known was better than the unknown. "I...I am Peter Parker." He replied, relaxing his position and walking over slowly. "I am confused cause, like, I'm pretty sure I died. And I don't know what this is or where I am and I'm kind of scared, ya know? Not to say that you're scared or anything but-but I'm scared." The high schooler confessed, holding his arms briefly. Why he was rambling, he wasn't sure but it was most likely due to the intense anxiety.

Heimdall did not answer right away. Instead, he brought Peter to a tree with low hanging fruit that closely resembled pomegranates, picking one off. The minute the fruit was taken, a new one grew in it's place at a rapid pace. "Here warrior," Heimdall held out the mysterious fruit. "Your nerves will be calmed by this. It will make everything easier to understand once the fear is removed."

Peter took it hesitantly and stared at the fruit in his hand, once again weighing his options. While he could feel something was wrong, Heimdall didn't seem to have any tricks up his sleeves and Peter was, admittedly, very hungry. So, he rose it to his mouth and took a small bite.

Euphoria.

Joy!

_Absolute bliss~!_

Waves and waves of positive emotions washed over his entire being and just as Heimdall said, removed the fear. Peter felt giggles bubble in his throat and didn't fight the smile coming onto his face as he swallowed, his mouth stained in the purple juices. "What's this~? Ohhh, I-I like this! I like this a lot!" He snickered, taking several bites of the sugary fruit, more laughter abound as he happily submitted to it all. The feelings only increased, pleasant shivers going through Peter as he nearly fell to the ground. Sticky, sweet juice dripped off of him and his suit but he could care less if it stained him as long as he got more of his desired treat, even raising his arm and licking it off himself like a cat.

Heimdall chuckled the way fathers do when their children finally learn how to ride a bike. "Yes, Peter. Welcome. Welcome to Lotus, home of Thanos' children. Leave all your pain behind, for in this life, warriors like yourself are immensely rewarded." He took Peter by the back of his suit, dragging him along. "I'll take you to your new chambers. There are already warriors here who would love to make your acquaintance."

"Oooooookay~!" A beaming Peter Parker threw the hand not holding his fruit up in a thumbs-up to confirm that he was in total approval of that. Heimdall honestly could have told him anything and as long as he got to keep his precious fruit, Peter would have been absolutely fine with it. "Will shey hash morre frush?" He asked with a mouth full of his new favorite food, his eyes starting to turn the same bright purple the juice was while the amazing haze continued to fog his brain.

"Oh, they will have more ambrosia fruits and much better things, warrior. Much better things." Heimdall assured, heading right for the heart of Lotus. He was already excited for the shows they'd be able to have with this newest addition. It was looking to be quite interesting, if the slight resistance his body had to the fruits was as significant as Heimdall believed.

The King would be very pleased with him.


	3. Playing the Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rocket and Steve vent for a sec.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm one of those nerds who likes religious references and mine aren't even subtle, lol. So if you see a fancy word you don't know the meaning of it's because whoops, most of the references here are religious. In one of my other fics, "1, 2, Free" every chapter's a science reference, so I guess this is something I like to do as an author?? Idk-
> 
> I'm sorryyyy, there's gonna be a little more angst before things get less and less angsty. The angst will always be there, it'll just be less than before. Angst. I'm addicted to it. It's why I started this account for a DC property. And this involves gay angst so oof, I'm probably gonna have it come back over and over again. 
> 
> Anyways, if you wanna chat about this fic or Marvel or just make a new friend, my brand new insta's @driftingtoheaven and I'll be posting Infinity War stuff on it/if any kind soul makes me fan art. Hope to see ya there!

Everyone was preparing to go to the unknown planet they temporarily dubbed as Thanos' Wish. It felt a little too romantic for that monster but there was really nothing better to describe the huge, lavender rock that had appeared out of nowhere that had clearly been the fallen man's wish. In the midst of it all, after Okoye joined them again, Steve decided to help Rocket find new weapons, the others having already grabbed there own from the royal gallery. 

"I want something big and powerful. I wanna blow up the whole planet once we get Groot and everyone else off of it." Rocket demanded, searching through it all. "I want weapons to turn any of Thanos' minions that might still be crawling around to dust. I want them all dead. Everything in his legacy fucking destroyed." 

Steve couldn't necessarily disagree with any of that. "I understand you're upset but we need to go into this with a clear mind. Blowing people up won't solve anything." He reminded, almost hating that he still had to play the responsible one after he'd gone rogue for so long. 

"It'll make me less angry." Rocket corrected, picking up one of the larger guns. "They took Groot after I just got him back, I'm ready to hurt anyone who stands in my way of blasting the people keeping him to Hell. I'm so tired of this stupid game the universe keeps playing with me. Having him one second, losing him again. I mean, it only happened twice but one time was enough. I'm sick of this already." 

Steve gave a mixture of a scoff and laugh he couldn't hold back, shaking his head. "One of the people we lost, the man with the metal arm? I've lost him at least six times, I can't even properly keep track anymore. Every time I get him, he slips right back through my fingers. If it's not one evil, it's another. I'm sick of this game too. The only thing I can say is it makes me appreciate him even more when I get time to spend with him." 

"If you care about him so much, then why don't you want to go in guns a-blazin, like me? What, do you think that dead douche's goons'll just let us through? Don't you wanna mow 'em to shreds? I mean, I can't imagine losing Groot more than twice. I'd be so pissed I couldn't see straight." Rocket picked up various weapons, playing a game of compare and contrast in his head now. 

"I want to." The words slipped out of Steve's mouth before he could hold them back so he just ran with them. "But that's not what Buck would want. There's too much risk, there are over a billion people on that planet if they were transported from Earth. Destroying the planet and firing without thought could kill genuinely innocent people. But I want to save Bucky just as much as you want to get Groot back." 

Rocket hummed for a moment, clearly interested in the whole story now. "So, what is Buck to you? 'Cause Groot's a teammate and a kid to me but I'm getting a whole different feeling from ya. I only wanna know for reference or whatever. I kinda hate being out of the loop." That was a lie and they both knew it. 

"Honestly? I don't know." Steve sighed out, going through weapons again. "Every time I lose him, I rethink things. It's a part of the game, like you said. They're gone and you want them back right away because you think they're gone for good. Then, you get a sign that they're fine and ready and waiting for you and you go to 'em and the cycle repeats again. I thought for the longest time about how I felt but then I rethink it over again. I don't think he's a kid to me or a team mate. I think I feel more. But I haven't had time for emotions. It's a whole lot of complicated things I haven't properly thought through." That was a lie and they both knew it. 

"You're in love with him. Okay. Thanks for the rest of the talk, I feel less like blowing up a planet and more like knowing what kind of pillow talk you and your robot arm boyfriend are gonna have. Speaking of which, I already told him. That arm's mine." Rocket grinned, picking up a few of the smaller weapons before quickly scurrying out, ready to sort through them a final time and pack what he could. 

Ever since Steve had left the Avengers, he'd become his own man, so to speak. Honed his skills, fought in more hand to hand combat without a shield mixed in and strengthened himself as much as possible. He had really been the leader of his own team, calling the shots and making things work. So it was hard for him to accept that right now, he was blushing and stuttering the way he had been when he was still a part of Tony's team. Once he was composed, he was going to tell Rocket that he was absolutely wrong and that saving Bucky for the millionth time was just because he was a dear companion to him, nothing more. 

But that was a lie. And he knew it.


	4. The Spider's Web

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter meets his Mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ALERT ALERT  
> SELF INSERT OC ALERT  
> Before anyone comments on her, /yes/ Danielle is a shameless self insert and /no/ she will not be shipped with any of the main characters so don't worry about that. I'm just gonna use my own features and parts of my personality to make her caaaaausssse I'm lazy and I can't ever think of original female characters that aren't just me. So yeah. Watch out for that, I guess//
> 
> I'm so surprised I've been able to actually keep this up??? Like??? I can never finish this much of a fic, whoo-boy. But knowing you guys are actually interested in reading definitely helps. I love ya, human beings!

Peter had been laughing for about 10 minutes now. He wasn't sure what tickled him so much but Heimdall didn't say anything against it, so he made no move to calm down. "Uhmmm, Mr. Heimdall? Are we-heh, are we going to the ch-chambers now?" He managed to stutter out, already having to hold more of his chortles back. 

"I'm taking you to Mother. She'll be the one to show you around your chambers. I must go back and watch, be prepared for any new beings like you who have come to join our lovely society. But yes, that's where we're headed, warrior." Heimdall answered, stopping when they'd arrived at their destination. 

A woman in a purple dress with pink accents stood in front of a very large and beautiful mansion. She was shorter than both Peter and Heimdall and a bit on the plumper side but carried a smile and shining, violet eyes to go along side short corkscrew curls and dark purple freckles dotting her cheeks. "Here we are! A new warrior! I'm so glad you've come! I was just telling the others how much nicer it would be to have another addition to the show." She gave them both an almost sickly sweet smile, tilting her head. "And what's your name, little one?" 

Peter felt himself be let go of by Heimdall, falling onto the ground before he rose back to his feet shakily. "P-Peter. Peter Parker, ma'm." He answered, still off balance before he felt her hands helping him to stay upright. 

"Easy, hun! You just had some ambrosia fruits, you're gonna be a bit wobbly. It's not meant for mere mortals like us. It's the food of the gods, one of Thanos' gifts to us for our sacrifice." The mysterious woman explained, brushing off his suit. "And by the looks of it and the smell of it, you really enjoyed it! Well, I can go and get you more, if you'd like!" She offered with a winning beam, suddenly taking his hand as if she'd known him for years. 

Peter snickered at the last two sentences, nodding. "Yesss, please! But uh, what do I call you?" He tilted his head like a curious puppy, not minding her hand taking his own. In some way, he found comfort through it, a part of himself that was being pushed further and further down was trying to question this more, insist that something was wrong. 

"Mom, Mama, Mother, whatever suits you. If you wanna throw a Dani or Danielle in there, feel free! Consider me your female caretaker and ambassador of sorts. I help communicate for you and the other warriors here on Lotus. Actually, I'm here to help with whatever you need." Danielle clarified before she turned to Heimdall, giving him a small bow. "Thank you for the new warrior. I wish you good luck!" 

"Thank you for taking care of him, Mother. I'm sure you'll do an excellent job. I wish you good luck as well." Heimdall bowed back before he was off and walking to the fields again. 

Peter didn't say anything, only gleefully humming to himself as he walked along with his new caretaker, not having a single care in the world. For a split second, he felt worry jab at him, making his body freeze momentarily before a finger stroked the back of his palm. 

"I understand your anxiety. This is all so new to you, isn't it?" Danielle frowned sympathetically at him, stopping in front of the door to the large building. "Well, worry no more, Peter. Just as Heimdall said, I'll be here to take care of you from now on. Follow me, little one. I've got plenty of fruits to take your cares away." 

Peter was lead into the mansion, looking around curiously as he could hear Mother speaking about minor details in the home relating to Thanos. He found himself hungry for more fruits and when they approached the kitchen and there was a whole bowl, his stomach growled loudly for them. "C-C-Can I-?" 

"Shhhh, of course you can have some! Good on you to ask instead of take. Let me get it for you." She let go of his hand, looking them all over before taking one and walking back to Peter. "There. This is the nicest one I saw! Do you like it?" Mother spoke to him as if he were a preschooler learning about colors for the first time. 

Peter didn't notice the condescending tone at all, taking a huge bite of the fruit before he nodded. "Mhmmm! A lot!" He confirmed, eating more and more of it with one hand, the other being slipped effortlessly back into her hold. "Everything here is so good~ I like all of it. I like you." That worried feeling was trying to poke at him again but Peter ignored it. The fruit was good and Mother was so nice to him. This felt nicer than before. Whatever before was. He couldn't quite remember right now. 

"Awww, Peter! I like you too! I'm so glad you've enjoyed everything so far! Let me show you to your room. I'd have introduced you to the other warriors but I forgot they're out right now. You'll meet them soon enough!" Mother held onto his hand, carefully guiding him up the stairs. 

The teen nodded mindlessly, agreeing to whatever she was telling him while his body moved with a bit of a sway. "Okay! Ummm, alsooo, can I call you Mom? I think that one uhh, suits you! Yeah!" Peter had forgotten the term until it came right back to him and that had amused him as well. 

"Mom's just fine, Peter. Like I said, it's whatever you want!" She nodded, opening the door and showing him his room. "One bed, a drawer, a nightstand, lights and of course, the window. We'll get you some more clothes tomorrow but it's already pretty late and after the day you've had, I think you need some rest after you finish your ambrosia." 

Now that she mentioned it, Peter did feel a tad sleepy. It was strange that he hadn't even thought about it before she brought it up but he dismissed the notion right after it came, deciding to go over to his bed and pull Mother towards it. "Okay! I like that idea! And I like my room! Thank you!" He sat on the perfectly made bed with purple silk sheets and pillows, kicking his feet back and forth. 

"Alright, this is the part where I have to go. I do have some things to do but I promise, I'll be the one to wake you up tomorrow. In fact, we'll spend the whole day together! Doesn't that sound wonderful?" Mother inquired, already knowing the exact answer she was going to get from him. 

"Yes, Mom! That sounds great! I can't wait!" Peter bounced on the mattress, taking another huge bite of the fruit in his hand. This only made him even cheerier as he fell back onto the bed, sighing out. "I love everything, Mom. Thanks so, so much." 

"Awwww, of course! Anything for you, Peter." Mother pat his head, able to reach it with him being on the bed before she let go of his hand, going to the door. "Get some sleep soon, sweetheart. Goodnight!" She waved to him one more time, checking the room from where she was. 

"Night, Mom!" Peter called out before the door shut and he exhaled, sprawling himself out on the bed. "Oh, man. This feels so smooth. And this fruit's amazing." He ate at it more, finishing it off and licking his finger tips before he took off his suit, looking in the closet to find several different sized pajamas made of a comfy material. "I dunno how the heck I got here but Mom's awesome and I don't think I ever wanna leave." The brunette quickly changed into that instead, leaving his expensive and intricate armor right on the ground. 

"Yes, Peter." Mother approved to herself behind the door, able to hear him. "It's best to want to stay here. Either way, we'll never let you go." She took out an ambrosia fruit, taking a few bites as she left the mansion, deciding to go and check on the other warriors.


	5. Wishes Aren't Granted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony wakes up to try and go home and the team on Earth is finalized.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before the gang heads to Lotus, we gotta go ahead and check on everyone's favorite sad dad billionaire playboy. I've literally had this starter on the back burner for 3 chapters now because I love writing Lotus chapters too much to focus on the others. 
> 
> I'll try and keep this back and forth flow I've got going on (Earth vs Lotus) because I like providing info on both perspectives. For all of you wondering about what's going on with Lotus and the ambrosia fruits, all I can say is that if ya don't like what happened to Petey, you're gonna hate what happened to Loki.
> 
> Also, I'm making up for how short this chapter is by posting two today, yaaaaaaaay

Tony awoke on the ground of the ship, his body trembling as he attempted to lift himself up. Everything was still sore, protesting such an action. Still, he fought through it, gritting his teeth so hard his gums bled. He managed to get into the front seat using some of the chairs for support. Tony Stark was going to make it to Earth, even if it killed him. The only thing he had left to lose was Pepper and even then, there was no guarantee she'd still be there. 

"Don't say that. She's-she's there." Tony shook his head, going through the system he was dealing with and hitting a few buttons, his vision still a tad fuzzy from the fall. A pounding headache was attempting to get his attention but he swallowed down blood and willpower, breathing hard as he managed to steer the ship up and hit the coordinates for Earth. After figuring out the ship's auto-pilot system, he relaxed again, trying to catch his breath. It would be awhile until he reached there, his body begging to rest once more. "Can't. I have to stay awake until we reach Earth. Need to. Awake." Tony grunted out, doing his best not to relax against the seat he was in. "Almost...there..." He bit his lip, doing his best to keep both of his eyes open and his mind alert. 

Tony was absolutely oblivious to the planet that had formed right in front of the path the ship was now taking.

•••

After some discussion on who should stay and who should go, the team who decided to leave was Steve, Rocket, Natasha and Thor. War Machine had to try and clean up after Tony/try to keep his things in order and Okoye was supposed to leave as well until she briefly spoke to Shuri in private. Bruce was going to attempt to keep in contact with everyone through Wakanda and give them help should they need it. Besides, should Hulk decide to come out and help, perhaps doing that on Thanos' planet wouldn't be the best idea.

Okoye kept her back straight and her thoughts as clear as she could keep them when she spoke to the group. "I wish to go with you and find the king but Shuri needs my help to keep things in order here. I entrust you all with finding him and bringing him back here. Wakanda needs him." She would genuinely prefer to go run off and do it herself but the inventor needed all the assistance she could get. It was more than a little frustrating, to say the least. 

"We won't fail you." Steve promised, turning to Thor. "And you're absolutely sure you can take all of us?" It wasn't like they could just drop the mission after all this hard work. Besides, Thor seemed to be much more powerful than before. He radiated power and after seeing him kill Thanos, he wouldn't be surprised if the god had become more powerful than his father. 

Thor gave a short nod, having wanted to blast off to the planet hours ago. "I'm more than sure I can handle it, Captain. But everyone must stay close to me. Leaving the path of the bifrost can have disastrous results. It's why I don't mind our party being so small." 

Immediately, the trio going with him took a few steps forward, Rocket deciding to just climb onto his back and hold on from there while Nat and Steve held onto one of his arms. 

"I'll send them down one at a time. Starting with your king, if I can." Thor turned to Okoye one last time before he lifted his axe and summoned the bifrost to take them to Thanos' Wish.


	6. The Snake and the Fruit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki comes home late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look, another chapter before the rest of the gang's actually on Lotus. It's almost like I'm  
> s t a l l i n g. 
> 
> I love your comments helping me to correct this thing! The more chapters, the more potential mistakes, whoo-hoo. I also love when you guys comment in general, if you didn't already know that. I alsooooo love Sailor Moon. Bet'cha didn't know that either. 
> 
> Last thing, I just wanted to say before I actually wrote this fic, I had three different ideas. One was to go with the old, "They all turned into babies and now we have to take care of them, lol!" before I realized that while I love that trope, there's waaaay too many babies for me to write and I had no idea how to finish that. Another was to try and write Doctor Strange cutting off Thanos' arm before he even got the Mind Stone and call it a day. But that felt boring. The last one was this. This definitely feels like the most original choice, anyways. 
> 
> Besides, there wouldn't be an excuse for Danielle in the other two-

Loki was wandering back home alone, again. 

It was a trend that had started ever since he'd decided to attend night services instead of afternoon or morning. He preferred the night services, seeing the lights and the galaxy as the preacher spoke of the God of Balance who had provided them with this paradise. A fruit once forbidden to mortals was happily eaten by all in as much abundance as they wished. All were accepted, all were loved and taken care of here on Lotus. To think that he, who had done such wrongs could deserve such a wonderful gift, it was beyond him. He appreciated all this much more at night.

Mother was, as she always was this time of night, waiting for him at the door. "I know you think these services are pretty but you always look so tired after them. Your eyes are shining, little one. They weren't shining when you came from the morning or afternoon services." She chided him gently, reaching up to wipe his tears away. "There's no need to feel guilt anymore." 

Loki didn't lift a hand to resist, leaning into every touch. The simple purple clothing with green accents showed tear stains on them, giving away that he'd been doing it for much longer than she'd seen. "I betrayed Him, Mother. And yet, He has shown me mercy. All of us. I failed Him twice and still, I am here. I have all the benefits of a warrior but I do not feel I deserve it. Why...why do you still accept me, Mother? Why does Heimdall? Why do the other warriors?" His voice was as small and weak as he felt. 

"Because, little prince, you've shown you've changed. The God of Balance forgives all who bow before His grace. You remember that, don't you? You know the scriptures better than I do." Mother reminded him, slowly taking his hand and leading him towards the garden. "You've worked so hard to become acquainted with Thanos that it would be nothing but a waste to cast you away. Heimdall respects you, the others respect you. I love you, Loki. I'm your Mother, after all." 

Loki felt the weight that had been on his shoulders give away again. In truth, the others didn't matter, the more that time went on. He could deal with the looks they gave them, the way he could never join their conversations after shows. But Mother was someone he had become more and more dependent on. She was the highest of her kind, after all. "To know you truly think so much of me is an honor, Mother. I can only hope to repay you someday. Perhaps, when I become a proper priest, I can give you whatever you want, besides what they give you." 

Danielle giggled, pulling him closer towards the tree. "I have what I want, Loki! I'm able to make you happy, aren't I? The warriors look to my guidance, I have earned the highest title a Mother can have. Mother of Warriors instead of simply any family within Lotus. Even the King is kind to me. But if you did become a priest, you'd do me very proud. And we could finally look to finding you a husband." She teased him lightly, sitting on the grass and flower covered ground, right in front of the trees. 

Loki scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I've told you Mother, Thanos is the only male I will ever need in my life. My heart has room for him, you and the King. All others shall receive my politeness but nothing else. I would much rather participate in those ceremonies wearing a robe instead of a tuxedo." He huffed, sitting beside her with a sigh. 

"I know you still feel guilt but that's not why you should become a priest." Mother reached up to his head, gently lowering it onto her lap. "Little prince, you must let your love of Thanos guide you to such things. A lover would help you be free of the guilt you feel. Encourage you to eat ambrosia when the anxiety is too much, keep you on your toes, bring more light when it is needed and when it is wanted." 

"Love of the God of Balance comes before all else." Loki spoke the quote aloud, smirking to himself as if he'd won quite the difficult battle. Technically, that was a rather well known quote but it was also a very powerful one, the beginning of the 4th scripture. 

"The God of Balance desires all to feel a love both to Him and one another. Man shall lie with man and woman with woman. The only exception to this shall be minimal, in order to keep the population to Thanos' liking." Mother retorted, crossing her own arms and raising an eyebrow to challenge him. "Therefore, you can have both, little prince." 

Loki but his lip, sighing out through his nose. He curled up some on the soft ground, his head comfortable on her thighs. "I didn't realize you'd remember that part so well. I have a feeling you memorized it in the hopes that you'd be able to up me in one of these conversations." 

"I did it for my love of Thanos." Mother defended before she looked towards the skies. "And to one up you during these conversations. But that was only a plus, not my absolute reason for it." She added, one of her hands going through his hair and stroking it back. "Anyways, it will all be fine soon, little prince. These times are confusing, especially since we've been gaining so many more in the population. The balance is still there but the people need help in being led. We must be strong for them. And it would help if you finally settled down and became an example to the rest." 

Loki kept his eyes focused on the grass and the sound of the gently swaying tree above them. The breeze was hardly noticeable but the plants felt them and so did he. "Would you come visit me? Could I live close to the warriors, even if I were a married priest? Would you still be my Mother? Or would I have to settle for one not nearly as wonderful as you?" 

"I will always be your Mother, Loki. The scriptures and my heart say so and you know it. You must trust me, little prince. Maybe you feel weak but someday, you'll be more powerful than you know." Danielle promised, still smoothing his hair back. 

The raven haired male nodded against her, a smile on his face. "Thank you, Mother. I'm sure someday I'll feel much more-" Loki's hand snapped up, a dagger in it before he felt a hard prick at his neck, making him cry out in pain, the dagger falling right out of his hold. 

"You were closer last time." Mother informed him, one hand lowering him back onto his lap, the other keeping the supply of concentrated ambrosia juice being injected into him steady. "Really, little prince, it amazes me that you still try. You're bent in just the wrong direction and immediately, you snap. So adorably fragile. It only makes me want to rebuild you even more." The first container was empty so she merely stopped her stroking, took another from her pocket and screwed it on, ignoring the whimpers she got as a response. 

"You can't keep doing this. You can't. Every time I wake up, I remember what you've done before and sooner or later, you're going to make the mistake that gives me the perfect opportunity to slit your throat and escape this golden cage." Loki growled out, his whole body trembling as the feeling of burning poison went into his veins. His eyes, which he'd had disguised as violet for the last 6 minutes, began to naturally turn that hue once more. 

"By the time you get that opportunity, you'll be too in love with me to even try. You're mine, little prince. From now until the end of time." Danielle hummed, wiping away the tears staining his shirt and cheeks. "Don't cry, little prince. Mother's here. I'll make all the bad feelings go away. No matter how many times it takes, I'll make all your sickness go away." 

There was more trembling and tears before the needle was removed from his vein and the clarity was lost again. "...M-Mother? My neck...it hurts again...you said it would s-stop soon?" Loki asked through the trembles, unable to move his body as all he could feel was her hand on his head. 

"It will stop once you're better, little prince. You're still too sick." Danielle pulled him closer towards him, her spare hand throwing the dagger into the grass. "Shhh, calm down, Loki. The pain will go away. I'll make it all better, we can sleep together tonight so I can push the nightmares and pain far, far away." 

A distant smile graced Loki's features, his whole mind lost in happiness and bliss. "Thank you. I'd love to spend the night in your arms. I love you, Mother." 

"I love you too, little prince."


	7. A Planet of Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and the others reach Lotus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOD I'M SO SORRY I VANISHED-
> 
> My girlfriend broke up with me a few days ago so ya didn't get even one chapter and I've cried a whole bunch. Joy. I'm gonna stop being a baby and try and write more but geez, now I have a bunch of anxiety over being single again and that's messing with me so ew. But I'm gonna ignore it and push forward. Or at least try to forget it while I write. Maybe. The angst and sadness I feel might help. Hmm...
> 
> Anyways, Lotus and Earth combine, whoo-hoo! Finally our guys and gal have arrived on Lotus to try and save everybody! It only took 6 chapters. And MatsuoTanuki was the first to comment on the fact that yes, Lotus' name comes from the Lotus Eaters from the Odyssey. Brownie points to anyone who can point out some more references I sprinkled on this alluding to the Bible and some other stuff that's not even religious. A good chunk is Biblical but I snuck some other fun things in. 
> 
> Also dang, ya'll are pissed about little prince Loki. I mean, does anybody remember what he did to Clint? Karma's a bitch.

The group of four ended up in a large field of tall grass and purple flowers, the bifrost having burned a pattern where they were and all the flora around it. 

"That bifrost thing was amazing! I wouldn't call it better than a ship but holy shit, that was fast!" Rocket was still coming down from the huge high he'd gotten from the experience when he jumped off Thor's back, stretching his body before he took a long look at where they were. 

Steve took a few steps and stared at the purple sky and strangely shimmering clouds. "We're definitely dealing with something interesting. Keep a sharp eye out for anyone approaching us. Most likely, the whole planet knows we're here." 

As if to confirm this notion, a large figure that had seemingly come from nowhere approached them, his armor a deep purple and his eyes a golden amber. "Hello, warriors. I am-" 

"Heimdall." Thor finished his sentence in awe, his axe gripped tightly in his hand as he tried to think through this wave of shock. When they'd told him there was a potential for all the people who'd turned to dust to be alive on this planet, he hadn't even gotten his hopes up. Heimdall and Loki were killed far before that time. Yet, here his best friend was, alive and well. 

"Yes." Heimdall confirmed, sounding a bit surprised. "I see you are all warriors. Come with me, I can help you if you'd like. Staying here is dangerous. I will not hurt you but there are creatures out there that will." He responded accordingly, in the way he had for who knew how many beings now. 

Thor had to will himself to refrain from  
hugging his old companion, noticing Heimdall was acting off. Not everything was different, he still spoke in the same manner as he remembered but not acknowledging him directly made the god of Thunder suspicious. "Where would you be taking us?" Thor inquired, his axe still in his inescapable grasp. 

"To Lotus, the city just up ahead. And on our way, I have some food to offer, delicious, fresh fruit." Heimdall answered with ease, walking ahead at an easy to follow pace. "Come now. It's safer where I'm taking you." The gatekeeper promised once again, his hand now making a "follow me" motion to further encourage them. 

There was a pause from the group before Black Widow started to walk ahead. "We're coming, Heimdall. We're all just shaken from the journey." She confidently affirmed, catching up to him and turning back to the group to mouth the phrase, "Watch him". 

Steve nodded but couldn't help but agree in his head with the groan Rocket gave out. He wanted to find his Bucky now, bring him to Earth and tell him how much he was appreciated. Maybe live with the guy, just to make sure he wasn't beaten or brainwashed again. 

Not that Bucky was his Bucky, other than as his teammate. He just so happened to be his team mate, that was all that thought had meant.

Heimdall stopped at a tree covered in deeply purple, pomegranate like fruits. "These are our ambrosia fruits, they're quite popular among our citizens." He picked off four of them for the group standing in front of him, the fruit regrowing back onto the tree quickly. "I'm sure you would all enjoy them." 

Rocket was about to shoot off some remark about him not knowing anything about what he'd like when he heard something in the distance, something familiar enough to make his ear prick up. "Wait. Wait a second. I know that voice!" Without a moment's notice, he suddenly ran straight past Heimdall towards the city, desperate to know if he was right. Because he was sure he knew that voice. 

"Wait, Rocket!" Steve called out after him, not wanting their group to split up and have to play hide and seek later, only to find Rocket in multiple pieces or something horribly morbid such as that. However, he did have a sense that they shouldn't eat the fruit this guy was offering. It probably wouldn't lead to anything good. When the animal ahead didn't slow down, Captain America sprinted after him, hoping the others would get the hint and join him. 

The voice was getting clearer as grass and flora turned into dirt roads, the words just barely able to be made out. "...it's not like she'll yell at us once we get home, right? Loki's always late and Mom never yells at him. Those drinks were so damn good. Thanos himself would be cool with it. Right?" 

"PETER!" Rocket practically yelled at the top of his lungs, a sense of panic and confusion hitting him head on. He usually had more sense but it was difficult to think straight when he had feared for his teammates' lives. When the comm hadn't worked when he'd checked it, he'd shoved it into the back of his head, narrowing his focus onto Groot but hearing his friend's voice, realizing that no matter what he'd believed before, he had so many people to lose and the thought of losing them had made him so much unhappier than he thought it would. "QUILL!" 

Peter stopped his conversation with T'Challa midway through another word, holding what looked to be a huge, clear mug of frothy, purple liquid while his eyes fixed themselves on Rocket. His purple outfit with burgundy accents had a few spill stains on them, more being added when he sloshed around the mug. "Rocket? What are you doing here? It's pretty late. We're not even supposed to be out right now, you should probably be with-" 

Rocket made several incredulous noises, unable to comprehend what the other had responded with. "What am I doing here? Quill, are you insane?! I'm here to get you off this planet, why are you drinking that purple shit?! It smells like poison!" 

Before Star-Lord could insist it wasn't, Steve came running over, looking taken aback. "T'Challa. I see you're alive." The blond began, not knowing what else to say. Heimdall was obviously one of Thor's friends who had come back from the grave but there was still some level of doubt and skepticism in his brain until he saw the king before him. 

T'Challa with those now deeply piercing, violet eyes and a purple outfit with black accents to compliment them, stared back candidly at Steve. "Yes. I was given mercy so, here I am." He spoke in a detached, somewhat cold manner, obviously suspicious of the two warriors. 

"Mercy?! You turned into ash! Thanos was a lunatic!" Rocket turned his attention to the other man briefly before going back to Peter. "I don't know why the fuck you're still here but if you don't have a plan to get out, I'm gonna be insanely pissed." 

Star-Lord took a swig of his drink before he exhaled through his nose. "I guess Mom was right. There are other troublemakers besides Strange around here." He suddenly took out what looked to be a glistening metal whistle from one of his pockets, giving a sharp blow on it, the loud sound crystal crystal clear for everyone nearby. 

Steve swiftly bent down and scooped up Rocket like a football, running to the side and ignoring the multiple insults hurled at him by the non human in his arms. "Yell at me all you want but you'll thank me later!" He kept running ahead but gave a sharp gasp as he was suddenly falling down an orange portal that hadn't been there two seconds ago.


	8. The Easy Way to Stitch Things Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mother and Peter spend a day together to help him get better clothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We now interrupt your rushed story development to check back on Petey and his makeshift Mother. And yes, Strange has now been added to the list of growing characters! How will I keep up with them? I dunno! I wish I had someone to write this with me, I'm an avid roleplayer who feels a little out of her element ;w; 
> 
> Also, thanks to all of you for being so sweet! Remember that Mother loves you and you have been blessed immensely by the God of Balance and through Him, you shall find the strength to defeat your enemies. And maybe kill your kidnapped, impromptu daughters while you're at it.
> 
> My secret fetish is totally making all you hate Danielle even more every time she's there. Actually, I don't even think it's much of a secret.

Peter awoke to a hand brushing through his hair, both of his eyes fluttering open to see a woman with short, heavy corkscrew curls, toffee shaded skin sprinkled with darkly violet eyes and of course, two giant purple orbs right above him. "Mom? Is it morning already?" He'd rested so well in his new bed, it hardly felt like he'd slept at all. He didn't seem to mind the fact that the young man had woken up with her so close to his face, simply accepting this. 

"Yes, Peter! Now, come on! It's time to start a brand new day!" Danielle twirled away and cheered, opening the curtains to the windows to allow light to pour in. "We've got to get you clothes and some breakfast! The Mother of Tailors herself is the one who can assist us. Warriors like you only get the best of the best." She nodded with affirmation, clearly in approval with the idea. 

Peter had nearly forgotten about the thrilling day ahead of them, quickly getting out of bed and looking around for his suit. "Um, Mom? I had a special suit on the ground, do you know where it is...?" He frowned in confusion, still looking for it while he spoke. 

"Don't worry, little one! I put it away for you. I wanted to get it properly cleaned. The children of the Tailoring Mother will happily get it prepared, I promise you that." Danielle took out a simple purple toga, setting it down onto the bed. "Until your things have finished washing, we've got that for you!" 

Peter looked over at it, his ears already burning in embarrassment. He was definitely stressed about losing the expensive piece of technology he had but this made things ten times worse. "But, Mom! I-I don't wanna wear that! It'll make me look like a girl! And I have to find my suit, Mr. Stark-" 

Mother shoved an ambrosia fruit into his mouth, hushing him again. "Oh sweetheart, all this talk before breakfast? What a chatterbox you are! But you have to calm down, focus on eating so we can get everything done. You'll only have to wear the toga for a little while. And you can do that for your Mom, can't you? It would make me so happy, Peter." 

Peter chewed and swallowed all the fruit in his mouth, a fog settling back into his head. "Well, of course, Mom. You deserve to be happy too." He took a few more bites, the unfathomable amounts of joy making him sigh out blissfully. "I'm just being silly. It'll only be for a little while and if it makes Mom happy, it's worth it." 

"That's my very good boy!" Danielle beamed with pride for how quickly he was picking up on these things, stepping out. "I'll leave you to finish your fruit and put it on! If you need any help, I'll be right outside!" She opened the door, shutting it behind her and jumped seeing the man in front of her. "Peter! You scared me!" 

"Sorry, Mom." Quill laughed nervously, looking away. "I was just wondering what you were doing up this early, especially with all that stuff going down last night. T'Challa and I were up kinda late talking about it but he said I'd feel better if I went to you and told you how I felt. And I think I feel...a little scared."

Danielle remembered what it had been like dealing with Quill during his developing stages. He'd been a struggler and was able to resist the toxins much more than his companions could. Though in the end, time went by and just like the others, thanks to peer pressure and days of torture, eventually, he shattered. He shattered and left Mother to pick up the pieces and arrange them just the way she liked. "Aw, my little star." She gushed, reaching up to hug him and was more than pleased when he bent down to meet her. "I know it's so frightening to think there are some who oppose Thanos, people who are fighting for a cause they could not even hope to achieve. Don't worry. Mother will help them to see the light, have them join us once they've allowed Thanos to heal their warped minds and dark hearts." 

"It's not fair. They think they can destroy our home, try and mess with our way of life. We're all so happy here. Why can't they see that? Those monsters." Peter grimaced, hugging her even tighter. "I'll never be one of them. Never. I'll never let them take away my home, my family, you. I don't want to lose you again." His voice was softer as he spoke, showing his vulnerability. 

Ah. He was in that regressive state he went to during times of stress. How cute. Danielle held back snickers, not from finding the idea amusing but from knowing how far he'd truly fallen. It was always so satisfying to watch him crumble. "Mom's right here, Quill. They won't take you away from me again, I promise. I'll make your favorite tonight too. Triple chocolate cake for my little Star Lord." Infused with ambrosia as well, obviously. That was a part of what kept him so dumb and cute and submissive for her. 

Quill relaxed, letting go and exhaling. "That'd be amazing. Your cake's the best." He calmed down, his head turning to one of the other bedroom doors nearby. "Um, Sam and I were gonna try and help the Guard find Strange and the two Warriors he stole. Is that okay?" 

"Of course! You two go ahead and have some fun. Remember to pack plenty of ambrosia to eat and to give those ruffians if you find them!" Danielle reminded him, unsurprised to see him racing to go and get the fruits with Sam not far behind. "Be careful, my darlings! May the God of Balance give you all the luck you need to strike down your enemies as He struck down His own!" 

"Bye, Mom! See ya at dinner!" Sam and Peter, both carrying packs of supplies (mostly empty at this point so they could fill it with the fruits in the garden) waved good-bye before running right out the door, excited to go on their adventure. 

They probably wouldn't find Strange, nor his rat-tag group. Not like it mattered, really. She'd have gone with them if it had. "Mother will be waiting for you with all the food and love you'll ever want." Danielle purred, surprised to hear the door behind her knock. 

"Um, Mom? Can you come in here and check if I did it right?" Peter sheepishly called from behind the door, not sure if he managed to achieve what should have been a much simpler task for him, considering he had gone to school in a toga once as a Halloween costume. 

Mother opened the door, unsurprised to see Peter's face covered in ambrosia juice and his toga in a similarly stained state. "Awwww, Peter! You did it just fine! Let me adjust it a bit but the main thing you did was get sticky juice all over it, my hungry little spider." She chastised lightly. A part of it was to see how he'd respond to the remark. The costume alone had given away his true identity and unlike Star-Lord or Groot or any of the non Earth residents, she knew her fair share about Spider-Man and the Avengers. 

"Itsy bitsy spider!" Peter echoed back, in an overly joyous mood thanks to all the toxins. "That's me! I love that nickname, you should call me that all the time!" He nodded, not even thinking about it being attached to his persona at the moment. Any of those thoughts were lost to him 6 bites ago. 

After adjusting his outfit, Mother lead him into the modest, natural and beautiful city of Lotus. Horse drawn carriages meshed well with the quaint, one story homes, all of them clean and put together but not nearly as lavish nor beautiful as their mansion. Most people wore plain lavender clothing but every once in awhile, they passed a woman wearing a purple dress with colored accents, none of them wearing Danielle's pastel pink. 

"The girls in those dresses, are those other Mothers?" The young brunette inquired curiously, his eyes wandering around to everything. Peter didn't even remember his current state of dress, being so enthralled by this brand new world before him. All he wanted to do was learn more about it.

Danielle nodded, leading him to one of the buildings with a sign showing a spool and thread and opening the door. "Yes! Any of the women wearing a similar dress like mine are all different kinds of Mothers, just like me! I'm the highest ranking one but I love them all the same, we're all sisters of Thanos!" 

A short, round woman with messy blonde hair in a purple dress with light blue accents dropped her clipboard, a huge smile suddenly plastered onto her face as she stood at attention behind the counter. "Mother of Warriors! I see you have a new champion for me to dress! I'm so honored to have you both in my humble presence today!" 

"Salem, Mother of Tailors, it is a pleasure to see you once again." Danielle gave a little wave, pointing to Peter. "I trust you have everything ready for him in the back? And you did an excellent job with the task I gave you last night?" 

Salem swallowed thickly. "Yes, I have my sons and daughters prepared to assist your warrior in the back. As for your other request, I...I ran into a small issue. We can discuss it further once we take care of the pleasantries, if you'd like." 

She'd indulge the desperate plea if only to see her squirm for a little while longer. Salem had been so disappointing but Danielle wasn't sure if she had anyone ready to take her place. "That sounds wonderful, old friend! Please, take us to the back! Peter and I would be thrilled to see what we can do!" 

The rest of the time was sort of boring to Peter but he did enjoy talking to the tailors that measured and explained what they were doing. Some blue-haired girl had started to talk to Mother after the measuring was done and after they all disappeared in the back for a few minutes, they were presented with purple clothing that had bright red accents, Peter waving good-bye to his new friends and feeling very refreshed in his freshly cleaned clothing. 

"That was so amazing! I can't believe all those people were there just to make my clothes! And they were all so nice and talented, I loved being around them!" Peter gushed, unable to stop touching his soft, smooth outfit or get over the interesting event. 

Mother watched him, absolutely glad that her little one had such a fun time. It was a shame she'd spent so much of it feeling bitter but that wasn't anything she'd let him worry about. "We can go back whenever you want a new outfit or if you tear the ones you're wearing at all. I saw you made lots of new friends, I'm so proud of you!" She complimented, about to add more when she saw someone wearing a guard's armor. "Oh, Peter, wait right here. I need to tell them something really important." Danielle squeezed his hand before she ran over to the man in the armor, her face suddenly devoid of emotion. "The Mother of Tailors? Salem? She's garbage. There's another girl, Tiffany. She's the new Tailor's Mother. Tell Felicity I want Salem gone in the next twenty four hours or I'll make sure she regrets it. Last thing, get Lisa to work on that stupid suit. Mother of Technology's bound to do more than what Salem could. And actually, I want Salem in the breeding factories. Stupid cow deserves it." The grin popped right back onto her face as she gave a cute pose to the guard she spoke to. "If I find out you didn't follow my orders exactly, you'll be joining her or I'll stick you somewhere much worse! Is that clear, cutie pie?" 

The trembling armored person nodded slowly, giving a small, "Y-Y-Yes, Mother." To confirm that they had absolutely heard it all. 

"Good. Once I hear everything went according to plan, I'll reward you with whatever you want! So, you be a good underling and get that done for me. Good luck! And don't disappoint me!" Danielle waved before she pivoted and found Peter spacing out, taking his hand. "Little one? Is everything okay?" 

Peter awoke from his self induced trance, shaking his head. "...yeah. I'm hungry, Mom. Can I have some more ambrosia when we get home? I haven't had any since this morning." He whined, licking his lips at the reminder. 

"My hungry little spider! You can have as much as you want!" Danielle practically skipped as they headed back home, blissfully thinking over how that ugly, worthless, useless Salem was going to be of some benefit to this society. It practically brought her into one of those fits of laughter she had to be careful about. Those tended to be very off putting. 

As the duo headed for the second largest home in all of Lotus, what looked to be a flaming comet came down from the sky, headed straight for the ground while carrying a broken billionaire.


	9. A Strange Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During the night, before Peter receives his new clothing, Steve and Rocket encounter Strange, Mantis and Wanda who explain how Lotus' society works.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should be updating every day or every other day again! Or at least trying to. People have been so vocal, I really can't help but work on this//
> 
> You guys leave such cute comments, omg, they always make me so happy. Especially everyone who's like, "I hope so and so will be okay!" you guys are so precious. I've also decided to name this AU the Planet of Death AU because one of the people who bookmarked this labeled it that in Russian which is the coolest thing ever and I want to use it forever now. 
> 
> One last shameless plug in, I do run a roleplay forum for Hetalia and other fandoms that I'm on when I'm not updating this and I'll put the link for it below this paragraph. (If ya do decide to click on it and you're on a phone, go ahead and view it in Desktop mode because the preset is super gross) I'm Nummy on there and if you ever wanna RP with me or my buds, especially stuff involving OCs or more of this weird hypno, brainwashing type nonsense I'm obsessed with, you can go ahead and say hi! We're all super weird and friendly.
> 
> http://hetaliaworldcon2.freeforums.net

Steve and Rocket plummeted straight to the ground, the both of them unprepared to fall onto the dirty, rock covered surface. 

After he managed to escape Steve's grip, the raccoon hybrid got to his feet. "What was that? Thor?" Rocket groaned, looking around for his new, buff friend but quickly shut up seeing Strange before him, his arm reaching back to pull out a weapon. "Who the Hell are you? What do you want with us?" 

"I saved you from being turned into one of those Thanos worshippers. Put the weapon back, Rocket." Strange motioned for his hand to go back down before he made a sound that was a mixture of pain and exhaustion, gripping onto his arm tightly. 

A woman in a tired, red outfit ran over, tusking at him. "Don't strain yourself. You've done quite enough by getting them out of that place before it was too late. Just breathe." Wanda instructed, helping to ease him onto a boulder on the ground for support. 

Rocket was about to try and further assess things when he was suddenly pulled into a hug by two delicate arms. "Mantis? The Hell are you doing?" He growled out with half the bite he usually had. Even less than half, to be honest. It felt so good to be around someone familiar again.

"I wanted to check to see if you had been infected like the others and I wanted to hug you! It's been so long since I've seen you. I thought you ended up like the others." Mantis squeezed him tightly, not minding anything he said. "I've been so lonely here, even with my new friends. They are not the same as you and Quill and Gamora and Groot and Drax. They are very different. It makes me wish I could go back in time and stay with you." 

Rocket would never admit it to anyone, including himself but he felt touched by the words, submitting to the hug and feeling his skin flush underneath his fur. "Yeah, yeah, I missed you too. But what do you mean a long time? We've only spent a day apart." 

The former protector of the Time Stone made a strange exhaling sound that had a sad, almost longing tone to it. "To you, it's only been a day." Strange shook his head, sitting on the rock with a hard sigh. "To us, it's been a year." 

Steve felt his blood grow cold, a deep shudder passing through him. "A year? How has it been a year to..." He felt himself stop, remembering what it was like to come out of the ice, his body having been frozen while the world continued to spin. Could this place have been "frozen" in a way? Frozen in time? 

"Thanos had all the Infinity Stones, including Time. He could easily have put us in a bubble, forcing this place to go one full cycle before we were suddenly back in your timeline." Strange grunted through the pain, letting out a scoff through his nose. "Or he finally died and we were released from his grip." 

Steve didn't know this man at all but seeing Wanda tend to him with care give him the impression he was trustworthy. T'Challa and that Peter person had been brainwashed but this gave off such a genuine vibe, he found himself relaxing some. Still alert but much less tense than he was around Heimdall or the king of Wakanda. "Thanos is dead. He's been dead for a couple days at this point. Thor took his head off of his body right before he could kill half the universe. It seems they ended up in these planets instead. If there's one beyond Earth." 

"I wouldn't be surprised." Strange shook his head, crossing his arms. "Everyone who fell on Thanos' home planet ended up here as well so it isn't limited to Earth. From what they've said, there are other planets just like Lotus, which is what they call this place. I'm not sure how many others but it doesn't sound like deception. Unlike everything else." 

"This place is nothing but a lie." Wanda confirmed, leaning against one of the walls of their cave. "Anyone who is friendly has been brainwashed or is trying to brainwash you. Anyone who acts for your well being is mainly acting for their own. There is no genuine kindness here and yet, they all pretend as if they live in such a nice, connected community. They view us, Strange, Mantis and I as outcasts, people who plot and scheme to take down Lotus and the religion involving the worship of Thanos who they call, The God of Balance. They live in this false utopia where everything is perfectly in balance now and that Thanos gave them mercy. I know this planet was a mistake. That all of this is something he didn't mean to create. He had one goal in mind, to wipe them out. All he knew was destruction." 

Mantis let go of Rocket, gently setting him down. "They have been using something they call ambrosia fruit to keep people in line. It creates unnatural amounts of happiness and arousal, forcing them to do whatever it takes to have more of it. Even if they could just pick them off the tree, they believe they have to ask permission or only purchase liquid forms. They ask permission from females they call Mothers. These Mothers provide fruits and keep them happy through whatever means necessary. If her influence doesn't work, they go to a horrible place. Breeding factories. Where they turn humans into fully brainwashed, fully controlled animals used only to create more humans." 

Steve swallowed bile in his throat, unnerved by the idea of anyone being put in such a place. He could only hope that no one he knew was within one of those factories. "I've seen a few other people who were also heroes. Is there anyone else among them who also understands what this planet really is?" 

Wanda stared at the ground. "No. It's only been the three of us. We all would have used our powers to help them but for some reason, they've been repressed here. I'm not nearly as powerful as I was on Earth. Strange can only teleport but even that weakens him. Mantis is only able to read emotions but she can't do anything more than that. When we do attempt to take someone, anyone at all here and tell them about the truth, they refuse it. We attempted to keep Loki here for a week but he fought and screamed. We thought since he'd been struggling he would be able to wake up but the only time he ever comes to his senses is around the Mother they gave to him and the other warriors. That's what they call Avengers, anyone who's more powerful than average humans. If we could awaken them, we could have a chance at taking this place down but so far, nothing's worked. They may temporarily come to their senses but then they go back into the states they've been brainwashed into. We've tried everything and in the end, they go back." 

"So you're hiding here so you don't end up like them." Steve came to the conclusion, becoming increasingly frustrated with the situation. It was strange to think that even Loki was being used in this place and viewed as an equal among his own team members. "How did you know we were coming?" 

"The huge, bright light alerted us. We go into the city to steal supplies and during one of these, you all appeared. I saw you and teleported both you and myself back to this place, an underground cave left by a creature that was killed during one of those shows they put on." Doctor Strange explained, his frown turning into a more neutral expression. "You're better off here, being a thief and an outcast than turned into living puppets like the rest of them. We've been living here for months but still, we've agreed that this is for the better. We're waiting until someone comes here that can break the spell, someone we can help. To be absolutely honest, we're useless right now." 

"So, where is everyone? What did they do to them?" Rocket asked, his stomach tightening from a combination of fear and anxiety. It was bad enough not being able to communicate with his friends but hearing what had occurred add things so much worse. 

"We'll tell you the whereabouts of all the warriors we know. We've been keeping track of them all in the hopes that one of them will start to break out of the spell." Wanda walked back over, knowing that she would have asked the exact same question if she was them. She had asked those questions a year ago. Knowing the answers did little to help her. "I can only say you won't like the truth. But in our position, that's something we're all used to by now. Everyone may still be alive but it feels as though the only ones still living are all of us."


	10. The Hunger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mother has dinner with the ambrosia bunch and is surprised to find something she's been wanting for a very long time. 
> 
> (Thank Talltree-san for coining the term "ambrosia bunch" because I'm using it as much as possible now)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up, the format of this story's gonna change for a sec! Two Lotus civilian perspective chapters and then two Earthling perspective chapters just to have a lot less back and forth, especially since things are finally going into motion. This fic's had a lot of set-up so far, time to do what people've been begging me to. And what I wanna do. I guess. 
> 
> I'm a slut for comments asking for more, sue me-
> 
> I'm also a Cast Member, so one of these days I need to go in my full Loki ensemble and tell Loki that I wrote an alternate universe where he becomes my alternate self's child-minded prisoner. I also have to tell him that I'm very proud that he's the Prince of Yodel-Town. I love him so much. He's always swarmed by small children and bending down to sign their books and talk to them so it looks like he's in a baby business meeting. It also helps that he's a baby snake//

 

>   
>  It was Dinner Time in the House of the Warriors and everyone was at the large, wooden table.

T'Challa dined on his cake slice with dignity, grace and utensils, carrying over his polite mannerisms from being a royal. It also assured him another piece when he asked for more and judging by Mother's hum of approval when she saw him, it made him all the better in her eyes.

However, the former Star-Lord tended to be loud no matter if he felt like his obnoxious adult self boasting about his many close calls in getting Strange and his assistants or if he felt like his excited child self who always wanted another slice of cake and to tell Mother about something he saw today. Tonight, he was the latter, having entered the mental state from the stress of the morning and never left. "Mom, Mom, Mom, can I have another slice? Mom? Mooooooooooooom? Can I have another slice? Please? Mom? Mom???"

James tended to gravitate towards more exciting conversations, always wanting to talk to Sam abut something else they could do tomorrow involving a show or going to the outskirts of the city to find another thing to destroy. "Ma? Quill's being annoying again!" He pouted, frustrated by the other interrupting him every time he tried to talk to Sam.

Sam hadn't minded the loud whining from Quill, finding them as a source of entertainment. "Hey, Quill! I'll bet you the rest of my slice that you can't yell any louder than that!" The brunette offered with a mischievous grin, knowing that either way, it would cause trouble.

"Oh no, Quill, please don't-" Loki begged, shaking his head before covering his ears, already knowing that it was most likely too late to get the male sitting next to him to calm down. He absolutely hated when they yelled, it always made his head hurt.

"MOM?! CAN I HAVE ANOTHER SLICE OF CAKE, PLEASE?!"

Danielle exited the kitchen holding another cake and smiling quaintly while she lightly scolded them. "Quill, you can have another cake slice if you calm down. Sam, don't encourage that kind of behavior. James, be a little more patient with him. T'Challa, you should have told him not to yell. And Loki," She set the pastry down in the center of the table before kissing the raven haired male's forehead, using her hands to slowly lower his own from his head. "If he says he'll yell, you can just run and get me and I'll make sure he doesn't. Are you okay, little prince?"

Something about how loud Quill was made Loki feel like he was supposed to do something, say something but what it was, he couldn't remember. Hearing Mother clarify that it was to go and get her instead of whatever he might have thought it was brought him comfort and ease. Loki nodded at the question, his expression distant until he noticed his jaw being carefully pushed down to open his mouth.

"Here, honey. You've barely touched your cake and I worked so hard to make it for everyone." Mother offered, taking some of the cake and putting it onto a fork, sliding it into his mouth. "There you go. You'll feel better after a lot of cake. And I have a surprise for you after you finish your cake, so be sure to eat it all for me."

Loki immediately felt giddiness crawl up his spine, several little snickers bubbling in his throat from the cake's "special ingredient". He made sure to swallow before he spoke again. "Yes, Mother. Thank you for the cake and the surprise." He knew he was lucky to have such a caring Mother looking after him.

Peter awkwardly sat into the seat sandwiched between Loki and T'Challa, grateful to be on the quieter side of the table. This was all kind of overwhelming for him and he needed all the ease he could get. He was also calmed seeing a plate with a cake slice being set down in front of him before Mother moved to the head of the table, closer to the rowdier boys.

The current household consisted of T'Challa, Quill, James "Bucky" Barnes, Sam, Loki and now, Peter. It was still ready for plenty of Warriors, should they arrive at any given point but since Quill had been here, the house had felt louder than usual and remained that way until it became the new normal.

"I'm calm. I'm calm." Quill promised, his legs still swinging underneath the table. "Can I have another cake slice now, please? Look, I'm calm. I'm super calm." The more he said the word "calm" the more impatient he looked, obviously dying to have another piece.

"Breathe, honey! There's plenty of cake to go around." Danielle chided, sliding him another cake slice and putting a hand to his head. "How about you take small bites and tell me about your day so you don't choke again, okay?" It was a request but she knew he'd listen to her. Quill, if nothing else, would always remember her commands.

Quill picked up the cake slice and took the smallest bite he could force himself to have, swallowing before he recalled some of the story from earlier that day. He and Sam had done their best, heading out into the field and looking around town, eating while they walked and taking breaks when necessary. "It helped since I had seen the other guys they took! The Guard kept asking for their names and what they looked like. One small raccoon named Rocket that I knew and another guy with a beard and a blue suit with a star on his shoulder. T'Challa said his name was Steve and that on Earth they call him Captain Ameri-"

Mother suddenly choked on her drink, the whole table freezing as she forced herself to take another sip, a shuddery exhale leaving her mouth. "... _Captain America_? As in, Steve Rogers? He's here?" She sounded doubtful, hopeful but wary. "Are you sure it's him?"

T'Challa nodded, taking another small bite of his cake. "Yes, Mother. I saw him standing there and I recognized him from Earth. He was surprised to see me here but I explained that Thanos had given me mercy before they ran off and fell into a portal." He informed, still as collected as ever.

Danielle had to set down her drink and breathe carefully, doing her best not to start heading into one of those endless laughter moments that happened when she realized how much power she really had. "And he most likely came here with the other two. Hm." She sat up some, her back straight and her voice clear. "We have to find Cap as soon as possible. Tomorrow, we're going to look for him. Strange and the others are far gone but Steve? He still has a chance."

James nodded in agreement, beaming at her words. "Stevie would love being one of us! He's always looking for a good group to join. If we got him, I'd be the first one to help him see Thanos saved us all instead of whatever wicked lies they tell people on Earth." He took a large bite of his cake portion, thrilled by the promise of a man hunt tomorrow.

"Earth is an awful place. So much war with themselves, so much unrest. Unlike peaceful Lotus, Earth is chaotic, unbalanced. He'll love it here once he sees this, I'm sure." Loki kept eating while he talked, going not by his own memories but what the scriptures had taught and described to him. The dark brunette didn't even remember going to Earth.

The rest of dinner was relatively quiet, Mother having to talk Quill down every time he started bouncing in his seat and James sparking up a conversation with Sam every once in awhile. Eventually, Peter opened up, talking about his experience with the tailors and how much he enjoyed his new clothing. This gave him plenty of attention and by the time everyone was finished, he was absolutely accepted into their group.

Once plates were put away and the rest was left to the servants that would come clean the rest once Danielle allowed them to, she decided to check on James before taking Loki to see his surprise.

"Bucky?" Danielle opened the door to his room slowly, not surprised to see him reading one of the books he'd gotten from the library. Reading was something he was practically addicted to when he wasn't out trying to destroy something.

James slid a bookmark into the page and closed the book, facing her with a slightly worried expression. "Mom? Did you need something from me? Did I do or say anything wrong?" He asked slowly, his anxiety rising from the thought that he'd said something out of line.

From the start, Bucky was a struggler. He was still struggling and between him and Loki, Danielle knew to keep a good eye on them. While Loki was fighting it for reasons pertaining to pride and fear of losing his memories, James was simply afraid that he would be hurt again. He had been brainwashed and tortured and used as a weapon again and again so the minute the ambrosia had given him an unnatural feeling, he was spiraling into a panic attack.

"No, no, no, honey. You're a good boy. My good boy." Danielle promised, closing the door behind her as she crawled into the bed, motioning him closer. He responded well to careful affection, especially when reinforced with praise and seeing him so concerned, she couldn't help herself. "You've done everything right, talking to the other warriors and eating all the food I offer you. Such a good boy. I just wanted to talk about Steve, you're not in trouble, I promise."

James immediately curled up into her touch, both arms around her waist and his head on her chest to stay as close as possible. "Okay, Mama. You smell really good." His voice was soft mainly from content.

"If I smell like milk, chocolate and ambrosia, it's because I was working on that cake for you. And I wish I could stay and let you fall asleep on me but I've got things to do tonight. But I'm all yours tomorrow, I promise, honey. You're a good boy. You deserve it." Danielle kept hammering it in, knowing that it kept him under her influence. Pain and cold made him retract but once she'd shown him kindness, treated him as if he were a fragile kitten missing a front paw, he submitted with ease. Fighting misery was the status quo but resisting pleasure, going away from the maternal bliss she provided him was practically impossible for him to do. "Is it okay if I ask a few questions about him? I wanted to make sure I understood as much as possible so I can help him become one of us. You want that too, don't you?" It was one of those questions she already knew the answer to. It always helped to ask him things he didn't struggle with, give him that comfort at least.

James nodded slowly against her skin, having made sure to keep his head where the dress ended and chest began. "Yes, Mama. I do want that. A lot. I want Steve to be happy with me. Earth hurt him, just like it hurt me. He should stay here, where it's safe and good all the time. With me and you."

"That's right. He'll be here, with us." Danielle cradled his head, holding it where it was once she noticed he was doing his best to hold still. It was then that she went into several questions pertaining to how long he'd known Steve and what kind of personality he had. Sometimes Bucky would pause and she'd feel that metal arm tighten around her, her heart beating faster but the worry was for nothing. Eventually, he answered every question she gave him as best he could. "Good boy. That's everything I wanted to know. Thank you for helping me, sweetheart. Good night." She moved from the position she'd gotten comfortable with, hating to leave when he looked so cute in her hold. Once she got off the bed, she froze hearing a sniffle, grateful that she'd was facing the door instead of him.

"Uh, Ma? Do you think...do you think they made him hate me?" James' voice was trembling, his hands gripping onto the blanket as if it was Steve himself trying to leave. "The scripts said that everyone on Earth hates Thanos and his followers and Steve's not one of us yet. I-I-I don't want him to hate me. I love him."

For a split second, Danielle's heart broke. For a second, violet eyes flickered to dark brown and the constant feeling of control changed to guilt. For a second, she was the young adult she'd been on Earth, taking care of her siblings and friends, playing the role of a mother for them when they needed a shoulder to cry on but not stifling them, not making herself the epicenter of their lives. And then, just as quickly as she went to that place, she came back. She came back and she said whatever was necessary to keep all the power she had. "He loves you too, deep down inside. Earth's corrupted him. Earth's made him hate you. And we're going to save him, no matter what it takes." She turned back, holding his head close to her. "My good boy. We'll make him just like you, just as good and just as happy. But right now, he's sick. He's been infected by Earth, it made him blind and bitter, just like Loki. We can heal him. We can make him better through love and through Thanos Himself. It'll be alright, little one. We'll save him."

James nodded, his entire life being the words she spoke. His own hatred towards his former home planet grew as he kept the words in mind, wanting to do anything he could to make Steve better. "Okay, Mama. I trust you." He meant it. He'd seen her deal with Loki, make Loki into one of them when he started to go back to his old ways. If anyone could fix Steve, she could.

After giving him one last kiss on the head and giving him another ambrosia fruit, Danielle left, knowing the time for feeling sentimental was over. She opened the door to Loki's room, giving him a winning grin. "C'mon, little one! Let's go see your surprise! You're going to love it."


	11. The Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki gets to see his brother again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Folks, here it is. Finally, Loki and Thor reunite. And it only took 11 chapters to get to this major plot point- 
> 
> Quick warning, if you aren't aware, this is a Thorki ship fic. I usually don't approve of even implied incest relationships but since Loki is technically adopted and I can see it being a thing, I decided to make them a pairing in this fic. I've never written Thorki before so, oof, this might not be the best thing in the world? But I'm giving it a shot and I dunno, I thought I'd try something new. (Though this'll probably come off as a more formal FrUK, if ya get what I'm saying)
> 
> Actually, every pairing except for Stucky is something I haven't written before so, I'm nOT PREPARED AT ALL, H E L P
> 
> Also, quick note, this gets kinda dark? Ish? I mean, Loki's just trying to be a good boy but uh, oof. You'll see what I mean.

Loki had a feeling of unease going down into the basement. He hadn't been here in months and typically, no one except for Mother and those who were struggling or sick from Earth's lasting effects went even close to the basement. "Mother? You said I'm not in trouble, but...why are we going here? What kind of surprise is this?" He held onto her hand tighter, not liking how dark it had become, the stairs in the basement lit only by very dim lanterns.

"A very good one! I finally got you something you've been asking for the longest time." Danielle explained in the optimistic way she always did, going up to the large wooden door that would expose the rest of the basement and taking out a key from one of her dress pockets. "He's been wanting to see you too!"

"He?" Loki repeated softly to himself and it was only when the doors opened that he understood what she had meant. For there, imprisoned behind the metal bars, in several shackles and looking beyond angry was the King of Asgard, Thor. There was also another prisoner on the other side of the room, a red head girl who'd passed out but she was ignored entirely. "Th-Thor? You've come to join us?" He spoke with genuine excitement, his green eyes lighting up at the thought. "Mother, is that really him?"

"Yes, my little prince! We also caught the vixen in the other corner but I wanted to show you your brother before I even thought about her." Danielle squeezed his hand, happy to have provided him with such a wondrous gift. "Would you like to take a closer look?" She spoke as if the God of Thunder was a new puppy she'd purchased for Loki.

Loki was practically pulling her with him, staring at Thor with deep fascination. "It's been so long since I've seen him...is this what Earth has done to him? Made him so...tired?" The raven haired male also noticed his new eye, wondering where it had come from and excited to see that Thor with two eyes once more, even if the new one was an entirely different color.

"Life's made me tired, brother. Not Earth. Not Asgard. Not even this planet. But life and all the diversions and obstacles and people such as the woman you're clinging to. They've exhausted me." Thor growled, his eyes narrowed when they landed on Danielle. "What have you done to him? To Heimdall? How did you change them?"

Mother gave a small chuckle, cupping her own cheek. "That's a secret, Thor. A secret that you'll soon learn through very intimate teaching." She turned to Loki, letting go of his hand and grinning. "Your surprise, your present, little prince is that you get to help me break and turn him into the husband you desire."

Thor felt his entire being shudder. This woman didn't scare him but Loki's reactions to her did. He had a feeling it was all an act, that any second now, Loki would stab her in the back or knock her to the floor and undo his chains. His brother couldn't possibly dream to do those things. Rule Asgard or Earth, yes. But try to enslave Thor or marry him, no. "You're insane. Loki would not want to do such things." He mused, ready to see Loki falter or resist. The God of Thunder had felt almost powerless since his abilities were somehow repressed here but now that Loki was here, he was sure the tides would turn.

Instead, Loki's eyes got wider, full of thoughts and ideas that were in full approval of Mother's plan. "You would give him to me? The warrior I have always desired?" He sounded amazed, unable to believe that such a dream could ever come true. "He would love only you and I and the King and Thanos? Is that truly what I can have?"

"My little prince deserves everything his heart desires. If this is the husband you'll take, this is the man you can have. And I'll teach you how to heal, how to perfect, just as a priest would do. You could finally be complete." Danielle fed him promise after promise, watching the both of them hang on her every word. To know that both Gods were so dependent on her brought her immense joy.

In the beginning of Loki's struggling, during his moments of weakness, whether he believed in the God of Balance or not, one of the things he hated about himself was the mere fact that he was attracted to and desired Thor. That the older they became, the more Loki wanted him, the more Loki needed Thor and power he had. Loki had been adamant in the beginning that such things were too taboo and that no matter where they resided, it could never be. He was also entirely sure that Thor didn't want him, that these feelings were simply one sided, so there was no point in thinking about them. Loki's deep love for the blonde had been something that made him fight, made him do whatever it took to avoid losing memories of him. Mother introduced the idea that this dream could and would come true. That if he simply waited, one day, he could have his grandest wish.

"Loki, this is forbidden." Thor sounded panicked, unable to comprehend what was happening. He had struggled with his own lust towards the raven haired male long ago, before he'd gone to Earth and shown sides of him that Thor couldn't accept but the happy, curious man in front of him was everything he used to be. Everything Thor knew he wanted. "Brother, you're not in your right mind." Denial was the only thing he could feel, denial and insistence that this was a trick, a joke.

"On Earth, it is forbidden. On Asgard, it was forbidden. On Lotus, all things are possible. Here, any dream can come true." Loki argued, practically drunk off of the euphoria he felt. "Is that why you don't want to be with me? Because it is forbidden? Not because I'm unattractive to you? Not because I spent years as your little brother? It is merely the fact that it would be illegal and frowned upon anywhere else?" He had a rising confidence, one that grew and grew with every expression Thor made.

Thor swallowed down something building in his throat. He felt tempted to do as his brother would if the tables were turned, that being to lie his way out of it, break Loki's heart and keep his own sanity. However, he was aware that lying would lead to nothing good, so he decided to merely attempt to bring up different points. "No matter how we feel, we cannot act on these feelings." He hated the words the minute they came out of his own mouth. "I cherish you. I care for you, more than I should. But we've been taught since we were young that these feelings are wrong. We can't go back on that."

"We were also taught that Asgard ruled over the nine realms and that Odin was a benevolent, kind ruler who had always sought peace. We were told nothing of Hella or of Odin's past. Perhaps teachings and lessons created by people who do not care for anyone's happiness but their own aren't quite right." Loki snapped, not knowing how fresh or deep of a wound that was to Thor.

Danielle was enraptured by how things were playing out, just as able to see Thor's feelings as Loki could. "Everyone on Lotus is happy, this truly has always been a peaceful planet. We were given mercy, not hidden away or forgotten like those who had been killed to gain nothing but empty power. And here, we teach love and acceptance, an acceptance that most other realms and planets do not have."

"This place has brainwashed you into believing that Thanos of all people is some benevolent King who cares about everyone here. Thanos was nothing of the sort." Thor argued back, his rage returning stronger. Things weren't supposed to be this way, Loki was supposed to go to Earth with him and his people, no longer having to fear that monster. Instead, everything was absolutely ruined because of this damn woman and her fruit. "And if this place is so good, then what is this? You've imprisoned and shackled me, acted as if I'm mad for not acting upon lustful, shameful thoughts. I don't think that's good at all."

Loki scoffed. "You simply misunderstand our intentions and what madness is. I knew you would. I was so hopeful that when you came, you'd simply eat the fruit and not struggle so shamefully like this. I struggled as well but I expected more out of you, _brother_." He practically spat the last word, looking to Mother. "When can we start the process of removing all the toxic thoughts and memories from his head?"

Danielle was shocked by Loki's behavior. For the last several months, he'd mainly been a child when he approved of The God of Balance but here, this was the Loki that stole the Tesseract, that wanted to rule Earth. Now he was here with all his previous passion to assure that his brother would join the people of Lotus. "We can start right now, if you'd like!" She offered, trying to hide her own anxiety. A part of her had expected Loki to struggle seeing him, it was why she'd had so many containers of ambrosia's juice put into hidden areas all around this basement and in her pockets. But he did this without any fight, any hesitation. Did he want Thor that badly? Or did he want Thor's happiness that badly? "It'll take awhile to fully cleanse him and he most likely won't show too many signs of improvement tonight but the sooner we start, the better."

"Good." Loki nodded, walking closer to the cage. "And, Mother? Can I have a fruit before we begin?" He turned to her with a strange expression, of trying to appear neutral but there was something raw, almost pleading behind it. "I can feel resistance in my mind. All that awful toxicity from before. I would like to do this as happy and pure as possible."

Thor pulled on the surprisingly durable chains again, gritting his teeth and attempting to pull himself forward as Loki soon had another fruit and was biting into it. "No! Please! That's common sense Loki, that's your real self! Do not fall for tricks you've performed in the past! Loki! Loki!" He called out, hoping that the other would perhaps use his words to finally escape. How had so much already happened in a matter of days? Why was Loki already so broken? The God of Thunder couldn't understand.

The raven haired male was snickering, sucking on his finger to get the last of the juice. "Thank you Mother~ That's exactly what I needed. Now," Loki turned to Mother, with both eyes shining violets and a grin that could be described as borderline psychotic on his face. "How shall we begin?"


	12. UPDATE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NOT A CHAPTER BUT THIS IS IMPORTANT SO-
> 
> I'll probably delete this later//

HI I'M SO SORRY I HAVEN'T TOUCHED THIS IN FOREVER-

I know a heck of a lot of you have been wanting more from me and I'm definetly working hard to make more! Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of these movies, I do like the MCU but I'm not nearly as obsessed with this as I am with other things but I love this story and since I've started getting better mentally and physically, I think I'm finally ready to try and finish this bohemoth. 

If you're interested in helping me with this thing by giving ideas or even helping to turn this into an RP that can help me keep up with all these characters, some of which I'm not entirely passionate about, please comment on here or DM me on the Insta I made for this, @driftingtoheaven ! I'd really appreciate the help!

There should be a new chapter coming this week or next week and it'll be even faster if I can get some help! Thank you all for your patience and kind comments and I'll be seeing you all again soon!


	13. The Promise Land

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danielle dreams of a time that passed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided I'm gonna re-watch some MCU before I finished up the chapter I started (Tony's finally gonna wake up!) so in the mean time, have a little of Danielle's story! I know, I know, I'm super sorry for not having any hero babies in it but they'll be back soon and Dani'll take more of a back seat for the next few chapters, so I might as well indulge in the idea that someone's interested enough in her to read this//
> 
> I'll give a minor warning for the beginning of a panic attack and talk of darker things.

Danielle awoke in a field of tall grass and purple flowers. When her eyes opened, she didn't move her body initially, staring up at a strangely light purple sky with clouds that looked like they were made out of silk and fairy dust. "Maybe I'm dreaming." The young adult mumbled to herself in a near whisper. "I hope I don't wake up soon. This is all so calm. So peaceful." She curled up on the soft ground, sighing out to herself. "Please let me stay here for a little while longer." 

Before she got to continue those thoughts, she suddenly felt a hand on her neck, an unfamiliar voice speaking above her. "A pulse. So, you are alive." The voice was deep, a rumble that had a warm tone to it. 

Danielle jolted, sitting up and scrambling away from the touch. "Wh-Wh-Who are you?!" She started to stand up, brushing off her pastel pink sweatshirt and jeans as best she could. "I'm not dead but you don't have to touch me! Who are you?!" She narrowed her eyes at the guardian, not liking the idea of someone touching her when she clearly wasn't able to see them. 

"I apologize for the touch. My name is Heimdall, miss. You're one of many to arrive on this strange planet. I'm sure you're aware this isn't Earth at all but don't fret. The atmosphere is perfect for human beings to breathe and thrive in. There are already people working on our escape but until they've completed finding the materials, we're making due with what we have." The warrior introduced himself, giving her a good three feet of space. His golden outfit looked to have been put through a rather tough battle, black and dented in some spots, a huge gaping hole in his chest. 

Danielle tried to process the information, blinking when it all started to connect. "I'm not dead, I got teleported? Oh. Oh, okay. I guess I'm...I'm kind of worried now. For my family. And my friends, wow." She put a hand to her head, her fingers digging into her hair. "Um, Heimdall? Do you know if I'd be able to find people I know here somehow? I-" Her hands suddenly went to her jeans, her heart clenching at a realization. "My phone's gone. And so's my backpack, oh, fuck!" 

"I'm sure your possessions are waiting for you back on Earth." Heimdall reassured seeing her anxiety. "Breathe, miss. There's nothing to worry about yet. You'll be safe here, you have my word and the word of all others working to protect us." 

Danielle let out a loud exhale, her palm still on her chest. "Okay. Okay. I'm sorry for yelling at you earlier. Th-Thank you." She let her heart calm down before she spoke again. "My name's Danielle. Danielle Kitmann." She did her best to smile, her heart not at all in it. "Where is everyone else?" 

•••

They were rounded up like cattle. 

Danielle couldn't recall exactly how she'd been penned up with the others in this room but somehow, someway, she'd been selected along with several other women who ranged from 40 to 16 years old, all of them unaware of what exactly was going on. 

She'd walked past the man who swore up and down he knew what her family looked like and where to find them. Danielle had looked but she hadn't approached him. Apparently, that had been the wrong thing to do because when she passed an alleyway, someone injected her with something and said how she'd made the "correct response" to the "test". From what she'd heard, all the other women locked away in this cramped room had made that choice as well. 

There were whispered rumors, the occasional mental break down from someone and even the scent of urine had come wafting into the room after everyone spent two long hours with what had to be at least 50 other people. It was a total and absolute nightmare, nothing changing until a door was opened. 

The first people who ran out were shot down by needles, hooded figures in deep lavender robes having done the action with a terrifying amount of ease. They had created wooden blow darts, no guns yet but somehow, someway, they'd managed to carve the tools they needed. 

"Thanos has provided us with quite a bounty. I was sure He would." One person spoke, two others dragging twitching, whimpering girls into a corner of the room. "The Grand Leader will want to look them over. Sweep through, we do not want him to find one here who does not fit his standards." 

Several other people in robes approached the group and in the end, 3 other women were dragged away, shot and also joined the others in the corner. 

Danielle did her best to breathe, knowing an anxiety attack wouldn't help her in this situation at all. "Calm. Breathe. It's okay, it'll be okay." She thought of things that made her happy, trying to focus on them while breathing. Running out of ideas, Danielle started humming theme songs to shows, taking an idea from a therapist back home who had explained it helped distract her mind and music in general soothed her. She was halfway through Steven Universe when suddenly, someone entered the room from a door across from them. 

"Hello, ladies. I'm sure you've all been curious as to what's going on." He started, in a purple robe just like the others around him. However, his robe was adorned with golden symbols, visible even in the low lighting of this room. 

"It's no secret! You're going to kill us!" One of the older women spoke up. "And if you don't kill us, you'll try and use our bodies!"

The robbed figure broke out into hearty, cruel laughter. "No, no! We don't intend to kill you or taint your precious bodies. That's not what we chose you for. You all have a much greater purpose for that, should you survive our trials." 

"Fuck your trials, you can't just keep us here!" Someone closer to Danielle's age yelled out. "This is illegal! There are still police officers here, people strong enough to take you down!" 

"True. But as we speak, we've gained more and more power. Power over all individuals, even those that were high and mighty back on Earth. Thanos chose us to wield the information necessary to taking control. Dubbed us as his Chosen Children. You shall join us or fall. It's as simple as that." He refuted, stopping near one of his fellow worshippers and holding out his hand, being given one of the darts. "On Earth, we had nothing but premonitions, warnings given through altercations with people who claimed to be our saviors. We knew there was a greater force coming and now, it is here and we will learn to truly thank Him for His grace, His generosity, His love!" The hood of his robe dropped, revealing a man in his late 30s, his eyes a deep violet as he faced the group. "By dying at Thanos' hands, you are given mercy. Rejoice! For you are reborn!"

•••

Danielle woke up with a gasp, her heart pounding in her chest. She quickly looked around, making sense of her surroundings. There were no hooded figures, no other women packed together and sobbing for their lives. No pain. No needles. "I'm okay." She mumbled, hugging her knees to her chest, deciding that she wasn't going back to sleep and would instead make a big breakfast for everyone. Before she did that, she had to breathe, had to calm down. "I'll be okay." Her dosage was coming soon. She'd be fixed. 

She'd be okay again.


	14. A Rude Awakening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony wakes up on Lotus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BEHOLD, A CHAPTER WITH CHARACTERS PEOPLE ACTUALLY KNOW/ARE INVESTED IN. Amazing, right??? I can't even believe I did it.

The world was slowly coming into focus for Tony Stark. He noticed right away that he was on his back and not within a spaceship of any kind, the sound and scent of candles and the feminine whispers telling him otherwise. The ceiling was a deep purple and light flickered onto the lighter purple walls, Tony moving his head to the side to see other beds with white sheets being absolutely empty, beds currently being the word to describe a human sized table with a cloth thrown on top of it. His mind was whirring, trying to come up with a description, a location based off of the information he had. Purple, for a medical room? Not traditional in his country's sense. Or most countries, for that matter. The whispers were in english but he was sure they weren't speaking in his tongue for him. They were native english speakers. He sat up slowly, surprised by the fact that it hadn't caused him pain. Was he dead? "I'm not dead. I'm still breathing." He grunted to himself. It was horrible reasoning but it was the best he could do with his brain spinning faster than he could process.

"He's awake!"

"What do we tell him?"

"Mother will be here any minute, shh!"

"I wish I could have him instead..."

"We wait for Mother's approval, then we'll see who may assist him. Until that moment, we may only observe him."

"But he's so handsome!"

"Tabitha, calm yourself. It's embarrassing."

Tony started to single out the voices, connecting them to the women across from him. They wore smooth purple dresses, each one of them having a cloth mask dangling on their necks. These women had to be nurses of some sorts or some other medical term he currently couldn't remember. "Why is my brain so hazy?" He asked aloud, his voice sounding distant and tired.

All of the women turned to him, a blonde one with a thin frame and young face quickly walking over. "We injected you with ambrosia in order to keep you alive. It's effects may make you drift some in your mind but it's alright! The fog has settled down much more, there's less toxicity for it to try and stop. Your bad thoughts, your pain, the ambrosia will settle these things. We took care of the rest." She set a hand to his forehead, humming. "No fever, that's good. Harmony? Make note of everything, please. I'm going to start the test."

"I'm on it, Tabitha." Harmony responded, taking out a notepad from one of the cabinets and jotting a few things down. "Alright, I'm ready whenever you are!" She promised, her hand pressed against the notepad.

Tabitha studied Tony's face before she spoke. "What is your name? And where are you from?"

"My name is Tony. I'm from Earth." That was the best his drugged up mind could give. Tony felt relieved at his answers as well, having feared he didn't know himself.

"Why did you crash your ship onto Lotus?" Tabitha inquired, her eyes peering more at him. There were small marks and bruises all over his face and although they had cleaned him up, it was easy to see he'd escaped a very intense fight.

Tony tried to think this over before he understood. "It was an accident. My coordinates were for Earth but I don't think my ship was aware of any planet in the way. The ship was on auto pilot, I was knocked out for awhile." He realised he was lucky that the crash hadn't killed him or anything else that could have hit him. But perhaps the ship had gone off course? No. It seemed unlikely, Tony had a gut feeling this planet was somehow right in front of Earth, as impossible as that seemed.

Tabitha nodded, staring into his eyes. "You do have very pretty features. It's a shame the ship crash landed the way it did, I'd have loved to see you with more intact skin."

Tony couldn't help but smirk, thinking her words over. "Sorry honey, I'm engaged to a gal on Earth. Maybe I'd flirt but I promised her I'd at least make the effort to act like I was taken." He chuckled, wondering distantly why he was so calm about this.

Tabitha suddenly looked appalled, letting go of Tony. "Thanos forbid, I forgot Earth was majorly dominated by breeders!" She held her hands to her mouth, her expression screaming shock and possibly disgust. "I've-I've never been so-so disturbed in all my life!"

Harmony raced over, wrapping her arms protectively around Tabitha while the other girls had equally panicked reactions, two of them even beginning to pray.

Tony couldn't begin to understand what was happening right now. "I-I'm sorry, backtrack for a moment, did you just say Thanos forbid and did you just call me a _breeder_?" He felt his stomach churn and his stress level become higher. What was going on here? What was Lotus?

"That was worst than I thought it would be. Girls, someone, please! Give him the dosage and we'll explain everything to Mother once she arrives here! If there's anyone who could fix him, it's our Mother of Health." Tabitha spoke with resign before she buried herself into the other woman's embrace, seeking comfort.

Tony was about to protest when he felt needles jam into both sides of his neck, making him cry out in shock. "Hey! Maybe you could at least try and talk to me before you shove something in my-AH!" He held his head, feeling stranger than before.

Tabitha was already rushing everyone out, all of them happily obliging to leave Tony alone in the room. "We'll return with Mother and she'll heal that broken brain of yours. Stay here if you want relief." With that, the doors slammed shut.

Tony had to monitor his breathing, his thoughts spiralling out of control. Friday, JARVIS, he wished one of them was here, they could have helped him, they could have made him feel at least a bit of comfort.

However, instead of one of his AI assistants, someone stepped out of the shadows, quickly running to his bed. "Don't worry Tony." Steve assured, his hands working to pick the other man up. "I'm gonna get you out of here."


	15. A Quick Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve gets some important things while he's out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowie wow, I've decided to try and write another chapter in today because I feel really bad for being gone for so long. Besides, the story's finally going somewhere! Maybe! Who knows! Please help me! 
> 
> Random question, if you were a Mother, what Mother would you be? The Mother of Knitting? The Mother of Sarcasm? I think I'd the the Mother of Fuck. Because I'm starting to regret the idea of writing so much in one day. 
> 
> And yes, this is a direct response to the last chapter//

_**Earlier** _

After the struggling trio told them the whereabouts of everyone except for Vision and Gamora, since even they didn't know where the two of them were, the group decided to rest. Well, it was more along the lines of Stephen practically passing out and Wanda quickly informing the rest of the group that it was time for some sleep.

So, night passed and morning came once again, the group waking up one by one.

"DAMNIT!" Rocket threw his fist onto the cave wall again, breathing through clenched teeth. He'd been absolutely livid ever since he'd woken up, seething since the moment Stephen informed him that Groot had been turned into a living support for the toxic plants, his own branches intertwined to the point where it was difficult to tell if they were two separate entities or simply one organism anymore. "So help me, I will fucking rip whatever shithead did that to him to shreds, bit by bit and burn whatever part of him is still alive if he survives!" That had been the first thing he'd said all day, having spent some time pacing across the cave, devising ways to torture Groot's tormentors.

Steve was still reeling in the information that Bucky had once again been brainwashed to fit this "Mother's" needs. "So they don't remember Earth or anyone from it?" He asked the Scarlet Witch, doing his best to keep his voice steady. It was difficult being around Rocket, someone who got to let loose whenever he wanted to while he was expected to act with more thought and dignity.

"They tend to remember a good chunk of their old lives but they're taught to hate Earth and everyone on it who doesn't comply to their society." Wanda informed with a deep scowl. "Barnes was quick to tell the Guard about our location the last time he spotted us in the city. He even referred to me by my real name. I don't matter to him anymore. I mean, we were never close but at this point, anyone from Earth is regarded as nothing more than an enemy to be converted or destroyed."

Steve nodded before he noticed Strange making a face of anguish when he looked into one of the empty corners. "Wait. You said you were in the city to go and get food but since you rescued us, you didn't get any, did you?" He clarified, taking a moment to set aside his concern for the ones in the city.

"No." Strange grunted, brushing himself off as best he could. "But I can go back out and at least get breakfast for everyone." He took a step forward until he felt a tug back, his eyes wide as his cape forced him to set his arm down. His cloth companion had been weakened by this planet to the point where it hardly interacted him anymore.

Captain America was in full agreement with the odd article of clothing holding Stephen back. "I'd be happy to go out and get food for everyone as a repayment for keeping us from joining the others. If you tell me what to look for and a basic lay out of the market, I can get whatever we need."

"After yesterday's events, it will most likely be crawling with guards." Mantis warned, having just woken up herself. "The safest course of action is to simply have the Doctor teleport you right to the stands and have you grab some food before coming back to it as quickly as possible. But that would mean not wandering off at all and you seem to want to know more about the whole planet."

Steve nodded, sighing a little to himself. "I am. But your safety and health comes first. Please, let me retrieve the food for you. For all of you. It's the least I can do to thank you for all of your hard work."

•••

Through a string of events, Steve not only found out that Tony had crash landed here but that he was being kept in a Health Center. He'd gathered the food in a brown sack and tied it to a loop in his belt before finding where the billionaire had been taken. It was surprisingly easy to enter the small building and avoid those working there (a majority of them being gaggles of women in purple dresses) so, he wasn't too shocked by how easy it was to find Tony. When he entered the room, he'd planned to quickly grab him and run but a group of girls entered and caused him to hide instead. After sitting through their discussion and watching Tony wake up and be analyzed for a short time, Steve knew he had to grab Tony and leave as fast as possible. Which really meant carrying him, since Tony was most likely in no shape to run and if his hunch was correct, his suit wouldn't be working correctly.

"Steve, what the Hell?" Tony groggily stared at him, not even struggling as he was put on the super soldier's shoulder. "What are you carrying me for? What's happening, what is this place?"

"Just hold on Tony, I'll explain it to you when we're at the base." Steve grunted as he made his way out of the room, listening and looking out for anyone. With the coast clear, he dashed through the hall, knowing he had to go back to the meeting point. Strange's portal would only be open for 5 minutes in about 5 minutes from now, their agreed time. He'd been given a good 30 minutes to go to the market and back, not for him to go on a rescue mission and back.

Tony mumbled something else but it was all becoming blurred. This feeling was familiar in a way he couldn't understand, he could recall these sensations in a dream and they felt almost comforting. He curled into Steve's touch, trying to have a grip on something, anything. "They injected me with somethin'. I don't-can't tell what it is. Need to know. Need cure." Tony had no desire to find out what happened if he didn't stop this.

Steve nodded, focused mainly on getting them out. He just barely made it out and ran through the alleyways, doing his best to avoid anyone who could spot them. When he made it to the portal, knowing he had mere seconds left on the clock, he jumped right inside, holding his precious cargo and watching the portal close.

"Steve..." Stephen groaned, staring at the both of them. "You took a risk, getting him. Do you know if anyone saw you?" He winced, holding his shoulder when it gave a twitch of protest. Holding a portal open for that long had been absolutely painful.

"I don't think so. Everyone on Lotus seems distracted, content. There were a few close calls but if anyone saw us, I doubt they got a very good look." Cap gently propped Tony against the wall, keeping him upright. "They injected ambrosia into his neck. He's been fairly quiet too, which concerns me. But even if he is addicted to that stuff, I'd rather keep him here, away from the influence of those people." Steve grimaced at the thought, imagining Tony as some mindless robot to command.

Wanda bit her lip, staring at Tony with concern. "I don't know if that was a very good idea, Steve. But only time will tell. Besides, Tony could be useful. I'm sure not even ambrosia fruit could dampen his intelligence entirely." She came over to inspect his wounds, her palm touching his neck. "If and when he to regains more sense, perhaps he could help us make a plan. We're exhausted, we haven't had a moment's break from all this but you, Rocket and Tony haven't been exposed to Lotus half as much as we have. With our perspectives combined, we could stand a much better chance of survival."

Rocket huffed in the corner. "Damn right we're surviving. I'm getting Groot, Quill, everyone else out of here and we're going on a vacation. A long, long vacation. We deserve it after all this freaky, freaky shit's happened."

"We all need a vacation." Wanda agreed. And unsurprisingly, so did everyone else.


	16. The Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki is in a good mood and Danielle can't seem to get her mind off the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just gonna keep writing until my brain can't process anymore information because oof, ya'll deserve it. I want the story to start going somewhere too, please and thank you. 
> 
> Have a quick warning because while Danielle's part does have an important factor to the story, it also talks a lot about some gross stuff and behavior.

Loki awoke to a rather large set up at breakfast, having gone to the table only to be greeted by everyone enjoying several different foods on their plates. He noticed Mother was in the kitchen, his interest piqued as he walked in. "Ah, Mother!" The raven haired called jovially, hoping she wouldn't mind.

Danielle squeaked loudly, almost dropping the plate she was cleaning. "O-Oh! Loki! Oh, I'm-I'm sorry, I had a terrible night's sleep." She apologized, setting the plate down and facing him. "How um, how are you today, sweetheart?" 

"I'm doing very well, thank you. Your surprise has had me buzzing with excitement for hours! It really has been such a treat." Loki moved over to the sink, deciding to help. Although they had servants that would happily do work during the night, it felt more polite to assist them. "Thank you, Mother. I've never cherished a gift more than this one." He smiled, hoping it would help soothe whatever was bothering her. 

Mother relaxed, putting her hand on his arm. "I knew you'd love it, Loki. You deserve to have someone of your own, to make them just as happy as they make you. I'm confident that with Thanos as your guide, you two shall be very, very happy together." She pat him before going back to the dishes, swallowing something down. "We can talk more about it after you finish your plate at the table. Please, make sure the others are behaving and treating Peter nicely enough. I worry that they may be too rough." 

Loki nodded with confidence, going back to the table and greeting the others with an unusual amount of cheeriness. 

Danielle let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, dropping the cheerful expression she'd put on for him while she cleaned, her mind wandering to a place it hadn't explored for months. 

•••

Danielle had sat at a large wooden table, a glass of champagne in her hand while she laughed with the man sitting in a tuxedo on the other side. "It sounds like you've had a very busy set of weeks! Even with all those set backs, you managed to get it all done. That's pretty impressive." 

"I'm glad you feel that way." Anthony smirked, swirling around the golden glass of champagne he had. "It's nice to know someone appreciates my hard work. Well, I suppose you of all people would understand how much passion I have for my projects." 

The words, "You're one of them." didn't have to be spoken. Both Danielle and Anthony were more than aware of that fact. Four weeks in his hold had made that more than obvious. 

Danielle smiled fondly at him, her hand cupping her cheek. "You did a marvellous job. It's a shame you'll be leaving Lotus. Your people will miss having a King and I will truly miss your company. I shouldn't complain considering how high up you've put me in terms of hierarchy but you've spoiled me some. I wish I could keep you and keep balance on Lotus." 

Anthony gave a chuckle, eyeing his drink. "You know, you could come with me. Let someone else become the Mother of Warriors. I know that's where you belong but even a short trip with me back to Earth would be so nice." His shining, violet eyes met her own, his head tilted. "Come on, Danielle. Wouldn't it be nice to take control of that world too? Rule it with me?" He quirked an eyebrow and the glass towards her, waiting for her reply. 

Danielle flushed, her head facing away from him shyly. "Oh, A-Anthony, I couldn't! My place is here on Lotus, my children would miss my guidance and the people know me, recognise me as a person of power." She used one of her fingers to twirl and play with a heavy curl. "It's best that I stay. No matter what I desire, I must keep order." She couldn't hold back her mouth from upturning in a smile, her hands moving to her shoulders as if she were melting at the idea. 

"That's quite a shame. Perhaps when I come back, you'll decide it's finally time for a vacation." Anthony shook his head but didn't appear to be too disappointed. "If I'm honest, I had a feeling you'd turn me down. After all, I know I programmed you to be loyal to Lotus. This is your home. Someday, when I've completed conquering the Earth in the name of Thanos, I'll return and make you the queen you deserve to be." 

Danielle looked back at him, her eyes shining. "Sir, I...Anthony..." She breathed his name out in utter amazement before turning down to her drink. "Oh, sir. I don't know what to say. I'm just. I'm so happy." The brunette let out a giggle, taking her glass. "Maybe Thanos would prefer we follow His word but I'm sure He would not mind this exception." She leaned over the table, her glass reaching out. "To happy endings!" 

"To happy endings." Anthony agreed, making his glass clink with her own before he took a long sip, swallowing thickly. "Oh. What-" He blinked hard, staring at his half empty glass before he sniffed at it, his eyes widening. "Oh no. No, no, no, NO!" The man was in a state of shock, staring at the glass and quickly setting it back onto the table, gripping his scalp tightly. 

Danielle had a drink of her own glass, licking her lips. "Do you like it? It's traditionally made with 4% ambrosia but I made sure yours was a good 25%. Our King deserves nothing less." She gave him a sweet little laugh, gulping some more down. "Mmmm, that tastes good! But, you never knew that, did you, Anthony? You've never tasted ambrosia before. Gee, after injecting me day after day with it, I thought you would have gotten curious at some point, decided to try it yourself. Never once when you injected us or poisoned the food supply with it did you even take a nibble of a fruit, a tiny sip of the juice? Huh." Danielle's grin grew devilish. "I guess you're not so impressive after all." 

Anthony was trembling, holding onto himself desperately. "You-You lied to me! I made you my own, I broke you down and made you love me! How dare you attempt to defy me, your High-" 

Danielle threw her glass across the table, hitting him right on his face, drenching him in the rest of her drink. "You think I ever loved you? You think you-you made me YOURS?" She snorted in spite of herself, holding her head. "You're such a moron. You really are. Why do you think I was so open to the idea of only loving a woman? To never having my own flesh and blood children, to spending so much time with fellow Mothers? I was never going to love you and even if I was attracted to men, I'd have never gone for someone over a decade older than me. That's ignoring the fact that you tortured and scarred my body and mind for WEEKS!" She stood up, making her way to the other side of the room. "You're such a lonely, pathetic thing. Spending years with your little group, making conspiracy theories that happened to be right enough and even when you managed to take the entire planet, you didn't have the social skills or drive to meet a potential love interest. Getting close to you, winning you over, showing you affection, inflating your giant ego, you made it so, so easy. Even during the worst moments of my life when all I felt was a deep, DEEP hatred for you, you fell for the ruse that I somehow adored you, viewed you as my saviour. Well, Anthony," Danielle loomed over him, having watched him fall out of his chair and onto the floor in a whimpering mess. "I never loved you. I never wanted this life, I never wanted to become your doll to dress up and use as a public figure. But I'll take it anyways. I'll take the position you gave me, the power you gave me. And I'll take your precious ship." She felt a hysterical laugh bubble up from her throat. "You know, we've been needing a new place to put the breeders. Somewhere that they can't be discovered so easily, somewhere a little more discreet. I think your ship will do nicely. It's big and spacious and with some reworking, we can make it perfect to break and use plenty and plenty of people like you who couldn't comply with the rules of Lotus and her people. Maybe then you can find out what it's like to feel loved. At least, until you become useless. Then we'll discard you. Just like you would have done to me." She reached over, grabbing his barely touched drink with one hand and gripping his hair with the other, forcing him to look up at her. 

Anthony looked conflicted, his body shaking and his eyes trying to look away from her and the bubbling drink. "You-You're a monster. A genuine monster. You're supposed-supposed to be compassionate, delicate, kind. This is. This isn't right." He shook his head, fighting off the voices forming in his head that told him to ask for the sweet, delicious, liquid gold in her hold. This wasn't the way things were supposed to be, this wasn't how this evening was meant to go!

"You know what? You're right, Anthony. I am a monster. You made me into a monster. One who can be compassionate, delicate and kind but who can also be cold and calculating and detached when she needs to be. It's not right though. I agree that it isn't quite right at all." Danielle held the glass a bit closer to him, her gaze softening into something much gentler. "Look, Anthony. You haven't finished this lovely drink I ordered just for you. The one that you and I both know you'd like more of. C'mon, Anthony. Ask for it. Beg. And I can give you all the things you want." 

A pathetic sound escaped the leader's mouth as he shook his head. "You-They'll never accept this. If they found out that you did this to me, they'll execute you. Someone would avenge me, someone would take you down. You can pretend like you have control over the situation but you don't. Y-You're just a child w-w-with a grudge." Anthony bit his lip hard enough to make it bleed when his eyes wandered back over to the drink.

Danielle huffed, bringing the drink close enough so that it was right under his nose, inches away from his mouth. "Anthony. That's not what I told you to do, dummy. I said, beg. Not whine." She also brought his head a bit closer with his hair, her gaze narrowed. "Come on, Anthony. I don't have all day. I'm going to be busy taking care of Lotus without a King. Well, before I make a new one. You're not going to need to be a royal in your new position." 

"S-Sick fuck." Anthony managed to hiss, regretting that he'd opened his mouth when he was suddenly swallowing down the rest of the champagne, coughing when there was nothing left and shaking his head in defiance of the new thoughts. "Ugh, stop! Stop this! Let me go, let me free, Earth must be taken, it must!" He slammed his hands on the ground like a frustrated toddler, his head lowered. 

Danielle sighed tiredly, sitting on her knees and taking him by the chin. "Anthony. No more struggling. I'm sure you're excited, ready for some ambrosia, ready to feel loved and adored. You like when someone makes you feel special, right?" She spoke in that sugary manner she did when dealing with those who looked to her as the maternal figure she'd become. 

"I...I do, but..." A vacant smile started to form before he frowned, his eyes unfocused as his brain stopped feeling so scared. "There is...I have to...this is bad. Ambrosia isn't...I'm not supposed to..." The thoughts were incomplete, forming and ending before they could try and be comprehendible. 

"Hm? You don't want all the ambrosia you could eat? All the love and touch you could ever receive? You'd never have to make all those big, scary choices again. Never have to feel alone or worthless again. No more thinking. No more loneliness." Danielle stroked the side of his head in a soothing manner, still caressing his chin. "Shhhh, submit. This is your purpose. The purpose that Thanos Himself chose for you. You'll finally be happy. Doesn't that sound so, so good?" 

Something inside finally gave way. After years and years of being raised in a group of individuals only dedicated to the imminent threat that had arrived much later in life than he expected, being able to live in a world of mindless pleasure was incredibly tempting. He'd always had his doubts as to whether or not he'd made the correct choice, becoming such a high leader. Now he knew he was wrong. "More fruit?" Anthony inquired, staring at Danielle with hooded, glazed eyes, his head tilting innocently.

"All the ambrosia you could ever eat." Danielle reminded, stopping her strokes to pat his head again. "You'll have lots of friends and food and happiness." She promised, pleased to see him relax. "See? Doesn't that sound so much better? I know it does. So, don't you worry!" She got back up, heading to the door. "You stay right there! I'm gonna get some fruits and get started on that project right away! Don't you worry about a thing! From now on Lotus and your future are all my responsibilities and you'll never have any control over all that boring stuff ever again! Never! Ever!" 

•••

Loki finished his breakfast with a pleased hum, brushing a few crumbs off himself before he noticed he was being watched. "Hm? Peter? Did you have something you wanted to say to me?" He blinked, surprised that the newest addition would gawk at him so much when he seemed to be a fairly shy person. 

"You've changed." Peter blurted, trying to analyze him, understand why. "Did Mother's surprise really do that? Suddenly make you even happier than what you already are? Because this place has been really wonderful so far but I don't think I've been that happy yet." His gaze suddenly turned to the others in the room before going back to Loki. "Do you think you could show me what it is? Maybe I could ask Mom for a surprise too..." Both his fingers twiddled together nervously. 

Loki thought it over. He could ask Mother directly, hope that she'd understand but she had been distracted earlier, looking for some alone time. Maybe he could surprise her in return, have Peter help assist in shattering his stubborn lover. It sounded like something Mother would adore. "Alright, Peter. But you have to promise not to tell anyone, even Mother." 

Peter hesitated only for a moment. "I promise."


	17. The Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki takes Peter to see his surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's absolutely no Danielle in this chapter and it's a Lotus focused chapter, hOW DID I DO THAT???
> 
> Anyways, quick warning for this chapter including some Thor torture from Loki and finally, f i n a l l y, Bucky gets some more attention. 
> 
> Thanks for hanging in there, everyone! Like I said, things are finally moving somewhere, so, yay!

James had turned down Sam's request to go out and shoot. It was a rare thing for him to do but eating ambrosia and reading his book mattered more to him right now. He had to get his mind off of the person he wanted more than anything, had to bury thoughts of a voice that gave him shivers because it was so easy to listen to, of comfortable touches and even rougher touches that made him grin at the thought and of a face more familiar, more clear than any of his other memories. Everything else felt scattered and blurry but Steve stuck out like a sore thumb. James couldn't forget Steve. Thanks to Mother and her teachings, he understood why. Thanos Himself had determined Steve would be his beloved, the man he'd enter a loving partnership with forever. Mother would fix Steve and then they could have a house right next door, ask for children and receive them, raise their children to be as strong as them, have a family of warriors that would make Lotus proud. He flushed, groaning and dropping the book and fruit as he buried his face in the pillow behind him. "Don't think about it. Don't think about it. He's not even here yet, don't think about it." The brunette went still, sulking over his troubles when he heard a conversation right outside his door. 

"You mean, he's in the basement?" That had to be Peter, the newbie. He sounded so nervous and awkward, it was easy to tell him apart from anyone else, even from Quill when he had his own shy moments. Peter had the voice of someone much younger than anyone else here. 

"Yes. Mother put him there as a surprise and to make sure no one could disrupt our work. Healing through ambrosia, especially healing the stubborn, takes time and slow exposure to those who are truly fixed." Loki sounded more confident than usual but it was absolutely him. 

James' interest was most certainly piqued. Someone being in the basement? Someone being fixed in the basement as a surprise? Someone who was stubborn and holding onto the past, onto Earth like that? "It might not be him. It could be someone else." He reasoned with himself, his metal arm keeping him raised off of the bed and tightly gripping the sheets. 

Loki sighed sweetly, sounding quite enamored. "You're going to love him, Peter. I'm so glad I'm the one who gets to fix him. That short cut blonde hair, his rugged beard, his shining blue eye, oh, he's beautiful!" The raven haired swooned afterwords, hardly able to contain himself. 

That could be literally anyone else. It was not his Steve, it couldn't be his Steve. Loki knew better than to try and touch his special someone, his everything. James did his best to calm his beating heart while his arm ripped through the fabric of the sheets from pulling on it. James bit his lip and did his best to resist slamming the door down, demanding answers. 

"If you say so?" Peter replied, confusion evident in his tone. "I'm not sure why he makes you so happy but if he'll make me happy too..." He trailed off, giving a hesitant assurance that he'd go down and see what was going on. 

James listened to the sound of a key being taken out and used before the familiar creak of a door opening came soon after. Something in him made him get up and open his own door slightly, watching Peter walk into the area. The door shut and James couldn't help but stare at the closed off entrance to the basement longingly. He wanted to know what was behind that door, he had to know. "Ma'll tell me. She always tells me." It was true. His Mother always had answer for him, no matter what question he gave her. So, he left the room, quickly searching for his Mother.

•••

"I don't like this. It's...kinda dark in here." Peter shivered at the lack of light as they walked down the stairs, his hand holding onto his arm tightly. "How could something that makes you happy be here? Unless there's some fruit down there. I'd like some of that." He really did. Even though they'd just had breakfast, it was nagging at him. 

Loki held onto the golden key, giving it a squeeze before he slipped it into one of his pockets. "Don't worry, Peter. There are fruits down there but more importantly, there's my lovely little surprise~" He grinned, finally reaching the end to the stairs. "Behold, Peter! My beloved!" 

Peter gaped at Thor before he noticed Natasha curled up in the corner. "Wh-Who is she? Is she okay? She isn't moving. Maybe she needs help." A bad feeling, one he didn't recognize at all, rippled through him when Loki set a hand onto his shoulder. 

"She's fine. We gave her some ambrosia hours ago, she's just being dramatic. Speaking of which," Loki reached into a nearby basket, handing Peter one of the shining fruits. "Go ahead and take a bite, it'll settle your nerves. This place isn't meant to look friendly but I assure you, it's nothing but good for those who are behind the bars. We're fixing them." 

Thor was disheveled, his head down and his fingers twitching every once in awhile. He didn't speak a word, nor look up when Loki's shadow fell down upon him. 

Loki sighed, patting Thor's head through the bars. "You'd be so much cuter if you simply complied. I told you I'd be back soon. I hope you got some sleep or decided to be good for me, dearest. Otherwise, we'll have to move onto the treatments." 

One of Thor's hands gave a jerk and his body seemed to be more alert. Still, he didn't speak, maintaining his defiant position. 

Loki scoffed. "Typical Thor. Always wanting to do things the way a stubborn ass would. Ah, well." He walked away, moving to a basket and taking out three separate darts. "Treatments it is." He moved back over to Thor in his container. "Don't squirm too much, beloved. If we don't get these three in the right places, I'll have to get some more. You don't want that, do you?" 

"You don't want to hurt me." Thor spoke up, his voice low and graveled. "You'll regret it later. You always do. Stop this, now." 

Instead, Loki's right hand gripped a dart and stabbed it into his spine, a devilish grin curling onto his face. "I'm not that person anymore, Thor! I don't even remember who I was then! I only know what I am now. A child of Thanos, a citizen of Lotus, raised and watched under the careful eye of my Mother! And you shall become just the same!" Another one stabbed into Thor's right shoulder, relishing the cry of dismay he received. 

"Loki, it burns! Stop this!" Thor begged, squirming around much harder than before. He could have resisted admitting it but this planet had weakened him. Thor no longer felt like a God, he felt like a mortal, a mortal in deep pain that was fearful of his body being damaged. This place was warping him, his understanding. "It's invading my mind, every single part of me burns and burns from this feeling! Please! Stop this, end this!" 

Loki ignored him, turning to Peter. "Come here, Peter! Come see! I want you to see my surprise when he's finally ready to listen!" He held up the last dart, all the excitement of a child on his face. 

Peter was getting those bad feelings again, they were becoming harder and harder to ignore. He stared at poor Natasha for another minute before he walked over to Loki, tilting his head. "Y-Yeah? Is it gonna be good?" He asked, putting on a sweet smile in the hopes it would convince Loki he wasn't having doubts about all this. He thought it would be a special, happy room, not a dungeon. 

"It will be great! But first, you have to eat some of your fruit." Loki reminded him, the dart pointing to the unfinished fruit in his palm. "Come on! Take a bite!" He insisted, eagerly twirling the dart in his fingers. 

Peter's heart was racing. This didn't feel right, this didn't feel right at all but what else could he do? Slowly, Peter raised the ambrosia fruit to his mouth and took a large bite. It took a moment but all the negative sensations suddenly vanished, his vision blurring for a moment as all the happy things came and the not-so happy things left. "Mmmm, so goooood~" Peter moaned, digging into the rest of it. 

Thor growled, his gaze on Loki as he grit his teeth. "You'll regret this. All of this." He managed to spit before he doubled over, the poison under his skin kicking into high gear. "Stop! STOP!" 

"Sorry, Thor. We're not playing by Earth or Asgard's rules anymore." Loki swiftly inserted the last dart into his right shoulder, grinning at his loud scream. "Shhh, it's okay. The pain will end when you submit, when you calm down and let it stop rushing so much. If you let it sit, calm down and drown in the sensation, it won't hurt." He took Peter by the arm, gently pulling him closer. "Take a good look, Peter. This is what resistance on Lotus leads to. One day, he'll stop resisting and see how ridiculous this was, making such a fool out of himself. For now, I'll get to fixing him. Perhaps you can assist more when I come back down. We have to let him sit and squirm for awhile. If he still resists, then more treatment will be needed." 

Peter nodded dumbly, finishing up the fruit before he was suddenly being dragged back up the stairs. Something compelled him to look back and before they were out of sight, he could see the red headed girl mouth something. 

"Wake up."


	18. A Long Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce tries to talk to Hulk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow, I haven't mentioned Bruce at all, have I? I didn't forget him, I just haven't had any reason to mention him. Or Hulk, for that matter. Welp, here goes!
> 
> To be clear, I view Hulk as a protective alternate personality, his own separate person living in a system with Bruce. It's why he keeps Bruce alive but refuses to be thought of as him. Also, a lot of stuff like that car analogy Bruce made in Thor 3 reminds me of DID, so I gotta add it, ooooooooopps//

Bruce was at the desk in his temporary room, attempting to work through a set of problems he'd found online. By attempting, this really meant he was trying to do it as slowly as possible in order to keep his mind occupied. He'd already tried sending messages to everyone on the team but no one had responded. Of course.

Here he was in Wakanda, alone in many senses. The rest of the Avengers were off on a different planet (save for him), Natasha, his only love interest, was on a different planet (without him), Okoye and T'Challa's sister were taking care of Wakanda (without him) and with the scientist fidgeting in a room alone, no FRIDAY or even good old JARVIS (he really hoped Vision was okay, the guy felt kind of felt like his test tube child. Not that Bruce would voice that out loud unless Tony pushed him to) he felt anxious and disconnected. "Fuck. This sucks." Bruce confessed to himself, only pausing when he felt a stir, making him grimace. "Oh, now you want to talk? Go ahead. Come on out now that everything's all fucked up."

**"Hulk didn't mean to hide."**

The reply only made Bruce roll his eyes. He knew better than to fall for a sensitive sounding Hulk. "Right. And Thanos didn't mean to win. And you didn't mean to let Squidward almost kill me. Right. Absolutely." It was a few bitter, cruel things to bring up but Bruce felt like he had every right. The Big Guy could do great things and he'd done plenty of horrible things as well but it always seemed like he fucked up at all the worse times. Made him feel embarrassed and ashamed, made Bruce look like a woman with a rabid, out of control dog. People could only point to him, the human as the one to blame. The dumb animal was a menace and the human was a nuisance. That was why they were hiding, that was why Bruce wasn't allowed to join the party. Because his big, stupid dog couldn't do his job and he couldn't control himself.

**"Hulk never meant for this to happen. Hulk is...sorry. Banner does not deserve to feel bad. No one should have been hurt because of Hulk."**

Oh. Bruce blinked at that. "Look, Hulk, you don't have to apologize, alright? I-I'm just kind of frustrated. I'm sorry for snapping at ya, okay? I get it. This is terrifying, I just didn't expect for you to actually try and avoid it." That was how he genuinely felt. He couldn't think of Hulk ever being too frightened to smash bad guys to bits and pieces. Even with the possibility of others being hurt, Bruce hadn't known Hulk to shy away. He hadn't in the past, anyway.

**"Hulk hurt many people on fighting planet."**

Yeah. From what Thor'd told him on the ride to Earth (before everything went to Hell), Hulk had done a lot of fighting and had most certainly killed people in the ring. It made him wonder what Hulk had thought at the time but dealing with Thanos had made Bruce forget all about it. "You did but this isn't the fighting planet. We're not there anymore. We're back here, right where we...don't know if we should be." The scientist shrugged some at his own unsure thoughts. Running away had failed spectacularly. People were always going to drag him back, he understood that now. Hulk was too dangerous to try and hide, Bruce got that awhile ago. Maybe Hulk didn't. "It's fine. The others are going to fix this, we can just lay low this time." Even if Bruce didn't particularly want to. Not entirely.

**"Hulk should lay low forever."**

What? "Hey um, are you alright?" Bruce had the mind to ask, now slightly concerned. "Come on, I'm sure they'll need you again later. Maybe even pretty soon. If there's any remaining fleet on the planet, you'd be a great help." He tried to comfort, still not sure why Hulk was acting so sensitive all of a sudden.

Hulk was quiet for awhile before he spoke up. **"What if Hulk hurts people again? People don't like Hulk. People are afraid of Hulk. And Hulk is..."** He trailed off and didn't finish his sentence as if he were fearful of doing so.

Bruce sighed. Great, now he felt like shit. "Look, Hulk. I give you a hard time but the truth is, I need you. People need you. People are scared because they don't understand you. I hardly understand you. But you've helped plenty of people before, you just gotta learn to control yourself. That takes time and maybe you gotta switch in more often. In a controlled area. With Cap and Tony watching you. Like I said, it'll take time but still, it's not impossible." He laid back on the bed, gripping his hair. "Ugh. I feel useless right now. Look, I'm terrible at giving advice Hulk. I just don't think now's a good time to have a crisis. Everything's really fucked up right now. I'm fucked up. I guess I can't blame you for feeling fucked up too but still."

**"Hulk understands. Hulk wishes he wasn't so afraid."**

Wait. "Hulk, were you...were you scared of being hurt?" Bruce sat up incredulously, hardly able to believe it. "Is that why you didn't want to come out? Were you scared of things hurting you? Panicking? I mean, it's fine if you were, not good but like, I can work with that. We can try and make things better. I just gotta know if you were." It felt weird to think of that. Of Hulk being afraid of something. Was that even possible?

**"...maybe."**

Bruce got up and off the bed, moving to the closet to put on some decent clothing. "Alright. I hate doing this but I know what we have to do. Shuri and Okoye might not like it at all but we might need you. So we're gonna fix this, even if it takes hours. I can't sit around and do nothing until they get back." He put on his socks and shoes, taking a quick look in the mirror. "Come on, Hulk. We're going on a late night walk."

**Author's Note:**

> If you'd like to commission me for a fic like this or anything else I've written, you can totally contact me through my Instagram @hypnotichetalia or you can just buy me a coffee! (https://ko-fi.com/R5R4JH14#)
> 
>  
> 
> I'M SORRY THIS IS SUCH A MESS BUT I'M TRYING AAAAAAAAAA


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